Cepeda gears up for tour in 2024
At the Latin Grammy Awards in November, Andrés Cepeda won his fourth trophy.
His record “Décimo Cuarto” was honored as the best traditional pop vocal album. The musician said that while he’s gearing up for his upcoming 2024 tour, he’s also looking forward to relaxing with his family during the last few weeks of 2023.
“These holidays and New Year’s Eve, I am going to be at a beach at the Caribbean Coast in Colombia with family and friends, cooking, sailing, fishing,” he said in an interview from Bogota, Colombia. “It’s going to be about spending time together, since we haven’t had the chance this year to spend a lot of time with friends and family.”
This interview with Cepeda has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: You have a long tour ahead of you in 2024. What are some things you do to maintain your health on the road?
A: Well, mainly I try to get as much sleep as I can, eat as lightly as possible and pay special attention to my warm-up exercises before each show on long tours like this one.
Q: Can you share some memories of places you had concerts that stood out?
A: Well, last year, I played in some unique venues in charming places. I can recall playing at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona and Carnegie Hall in New York. We had exceptional venues in Paris and Madrid, too. And obviously in my hometown of Bogota, I played five consecutive sold-out arena (concerts).
Q: How has being bilingual been an asset to your career?
A: Being bilingual has helped me a lot to communicate (in) my work, my music — not only in English-speaking countries, but also in European countries and other places. And it’s been fun because my first experiences singing were in English, since I was in the school choir and in the musical plays we performed in school … were in English.
Q: Each city and venue is unique. Are audiences different depending on where you’re performing?
A: Yes, and I find it interesting since I mostly visit cities with a significant Latin American audience. Still, these Latin American audiences bring along local people — their husbands and their wives, who are European. The same happened in the United States. There are more Argentinians in some places, more Colombians in others, more Ecuadorians, Venezuelans and Mexican people. It makes every venue and city different. Everyone has different expressions and ways of enjoying my music, making it special and unique.
Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: I enjoy being beside or in the sea, mainly in the Caribbean, Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Florida and the islands. I don’t know. I enjoy sailing. I’ve been doing it since I was very, very young, so I like to be around the sea and I like to sail whenever I have a chance. I like to rent a sailboat and have three or four days in the sea. It’s my favorite vacation.
Q: Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A: There’s a place near Bogota where I can (go sailing). And if I have to travel, I will do it as long as I can be in touch with nature, the sea, water and the wind.
Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A: I will always need some music to carry along, a couple of books, a guitar if possible and a notebook, because you don’t know where or when inspiration will hit you.
Q: What is your guilty pleasure on the road?
A: I think I have to say road food. You know, when you’re on the road and you’re driving, and you pull over in some small, nice place, and you try the food. I think that’s something I can enjoy, too. That would be my guilty pleasure.