Interview: ANDRES CEPEDA is Coming in April at Performing Arts Houston

Coming up this Spring, Performing Arts Houston is giving Houstonians a chance to see something extra special at the Cullen space in the Wortham Theater Complex.  Andrés Cepeda is a popular Latin American singer from Colombia. He is known for his romantic use of the Bolero and the Ballada, but he mixes these styles with pop and rock traditions.  He has won four Latin Grammys and is even a judge on the Colombian version of the competition reality show THE VOICE.  He has been a musical star for over twenty years, and Performing Arts Houston is bringing his TENGO GANAS tour to Houston on Monday, April 22, 2024.  This will be a major event for fans of Latin Music, and I got the chance to talk a little with Andrés about his early career and influences.      

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You started music very young.  I read somewhere that you were five.  Is that true? 

Andrés Cepeda: Yes. I started very young because I was born into a very musical family. Music has always been around on both sides of my family, as much as my mother's and my dad's. So, when I came to the world, I was the youngest of five brothers.

My father played the cello and was a great music collector. My mom played the piano and sang, and my cousins and my uncles all have some type of relationship with music and instruments. When I arrived, I came into this world full of music and guitars. I played pianos and stuff. When I was really young, about four or five years old, I started my piano lessons. As I grew up, I discovered that music was a big part of my life. When I was a teenager, I stuttered a lot. I had this problem speaking. I was very shy. I found in writing and singing a way of communicating with the world and a way to tell my feelings. When I was fourteen or fifteen years old, I had my first band.  I made my first record when I was about sixteen years old, and it became a local hit.

You are known for a slow romantic style, the Bolero.  How did that come about? 

Andrés Cepeda: I started my solo career in the year 2000, and I started singing and writing about love, my inspiration, and my own love stories. I also began exploring the Bolero, the ballad sound. I began combining this with rock. I like to hear a little bit of jazz. But very central to my music is the romantic Latin. The sound of the Bolero defines it.

I was reading that the Bolero started up or rather originated in Cuba. How did you get into that style? When did you decide that “I'm gonna do romantic music.” 

Andrés Cepeda: It was a decision I fell into because when I was younger, as I told you, I started in a rock band. All the big rock names influenced me in Latin America and America. But at home, my dad and my mom had their music collection around the house, and their preference was Bolero. I live in Bogotá, which is up in the mountains in the Andes. But I am in the vicinity of the Caribbean. All this music comes from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Central America. It bounces down to Colombia; we have received it and digested it for many years. I began with rock. But as I grew older and began to fall in love, I began to feel and experience more things in life. I discovered that Bolero had a certain wisdom about feelings and about interpreting feelings.

I started looking inside and listening to all these music collections from home, which inspired me to take that path. I feel comfortable doing that kind of music and mix it with all the other stuff I like. But this romantic feeling is the essence that inspires me to do music.

You here in Houston on April 22 at the Cullen Theater, and it's part of our Society of the Performing Arts series.  Have you ever been to Texas before?

Andrés Cepeda: Yeah, I visit Texas frequently because I am a sporting clay shooter, and I go to shoot the nationals over there. I go to San Antonio very often.

There's such a big Mexican influence in the culture of Texas. And there's a lot of Mexican music, which is different from what we do. And that's why it's a territory we are interested in. We want more people to listen to what we are doing, which is different from the Mexican influence you can hear in Texas. I've been there playing before in Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas too.

Are you finding that your audience is getting more and more diversified as you go?

Andrés Cepeda: It's interesting because we visit a different country every time. Let's say in America or Europe, lots of Latin people go to see us. Of course, there are Colombians and Argentinians, but they all would bring someone with them. It could be a boyfriend, or a wife, or their kids.  It becomes a nice mixed crowd.  It's a nice mixture of people from all over Latin America who take their local friends and family to the shows.

What will this show in Houston on April 22nd focus on?

Andrés Cepeda: It’s somewhat about the Bolero and the Latin jazz stuff. But I'm going to focus more on the pop side of my career this time. So the band is a little bit different, the staging, and the show is a little bit different. It's more energetic, much more pop-rock. It's a different color and a whole different feel to it. It's much more energetic and powerful. It's going to be six musicians on stage with me. 

Andrés Cepeda will only perform for one night on Monday, April 22nd, in the Cullen Theater located within the Wortham Theater Complex.  Tickets are on sale now.  A Monday night show means easy parking and dining options!  You can purchase tickets by following the link below the article. 

Andres Cepeda Photo by Camilo Baez

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