The Boy from Medellín

Hey, Balvin!

One picture please! Please!

I love you!

Mexico!

Here with you all!

Directly from Medellín, Colombia!

Hands up, Mexico!

What's up, Mexico?

I want to see your hands up, Mexico.

Get those hands up!

Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much.

This is a message from José Álvaro Osorio Balvín for you all.

I'm Colombian and proud to bring my country to other parts of the world.

I'm not on the left or right, but I'm always walking forward

with dignity and respect.

I'm going to talk about various realities, one that I've been through.

Which is anxiety and depression. It's a reality.

And if any of you out there have gone through hard times...

and you don't see the light

and you feel you are in a dark place,

let me tell you that that happens to me as well.

And now I want each of you to turn on the light on your phone.

And each light is a light of prayer, a light of hope.

Thank you, Mexico, for the good vibes. Beautiful and beloved Mexico.

And if you are with me and want to feel something,

sing with me so all the good vibes are felt in Colombia

and all the peace and love.

6:21 a.m. Let's set it to Colombian time zone.

I'll call you as soon as I land.

Okay, love you too, Dad. Bye.

J Balvin is the most-nominated artist at the 2018 Latin Grammys

with eight in total.

Balvin hits an important milestone on YouTube...

Colombian artist J Balvin was the most-streamed artist of the year.

Hey, kids, aren't you going to say hello?

Here's the latest news.

Workers' unions, social organizations and university students

reiterated their call for a national strike.

The "Boy from Medellín,"

J Balvin, presents

Arcoiris Tour...

in the city that gave him to the world.

Saturday, November 30th, in the Atanasio Girardot Stadium.

Okay, so tomorrow, first thing...

exercise.

Or wait, meditation first.

Meditation.

Let's write "meditation" twice so I don't forget.

Then I see my parents on Tuesday.

And one of these days, we should go to the stadium.

We'll go every day.

-What's with the notebook? -Hey, Iván!

Do you wanna see something that will blow your mind?

All of my dreams...

99% have been accomplished.

The Monterrey show,

Mexico City,

Chile, Argentina, Saudi Arabia

and now the Medellín stadium,

my biggest ever.

Then why are you so nervous?

Come on, man. Really? A stadium on my own...

I'm not an artist. I don't understand what you are feeling.

It's the first time I'll do a stadium show alone.

But it's already sold out! What's the fear?

Because I remember going to concerts in that stadium 15 years ago

with Nicky, Yankee, Ivy Queen-- all the legends.

And I dreamed that one day I'd be there solo.

So, which one was the hardest concert?

Puerto Rico.

Really, dude.

In Puerto Rico, I was in a bad state of mind.

Yesterday, at the gym with Gordo, I started to get that sensation again.

And I thought, "Fuck, this shit is back."

What do you feel?

Like you're not there, you're not in your body.

-Everything appears to be okay, right? -Yes.

Everything outside is okay, but not inside your mind.

It's hell for real.

You get me?

Like, why am I feeling this shit?

It's a fear of fear.

And only when you focus on the present can you trick the brain.

Like, when I'm onstage, I focus on singing.

You distract the feeling.

With the people in the concert?

With something you focus on.

That's why the worst thing you could've done was to cancel the tour.

If I've made it onstage, I'm fine.

We're clowns onstage.

Smiling, man.

That's why I love Hector Lavoe's song "El Cantante."

"Nobody asks if I suffer, if I carry sorrow deeply."

One hell of a song.

Yeah. That's my favorite song.

Hey! Listen to this. What do you think?

The idea... It's still a draft!

Yo, Shako!

What's up, man?

Our next video will be in a five-star hotel

in New York or Los Angeles.

God willing, God bless us.

Amen.

Be careful with that dog.

Colombia, Medellín-- so dope!

José wants to be with all of you. That's why he's here.

At the end of the day, when he finishes,

he'll take a bunch of photos with all of you.

Thank you. What's up? All good?

All right then.

What are the kids up to over there?

This one is really tough.

-José, one photo! -All right.

Let's hear it for José!

Lay down.

Who's a big boy?

Don't pretend to be a tourist

Too many pictures, too many posts Too many visits

Are any of them there If you really need them?

If there's a problem See how they avoid the fire?

Where are my people?

Hey...

Oh, my God. Look at that crazy hair situation you got going on there.

Why are you limping?

Because I'm tired.

How was your day?

Awesome! I spent all day at Comuna 13.

And now I have a sore throat.

Take Strepsils. You have to suck it.

Yeah, man, that would be great.

Is this new or just wearing off?

Whether this hairdo is new or wearing off, it's still ugly.

How are your folks?

Good.

Have you heard about the commotion those dudes are making?

Those "Doble Porción" rappers from the streets.

What did they do?

They're criticizing me, saying "Where is the Boy from Medellín?"

Threatening to protest the concert.

This is the only country where the artists are expected to do things

they're not meant to do.

You're supposed to get up there, sing and entertain people.

And the worst part is, if you speak up, it's wrong.

And if you don't speak, it's also wrong.

So either way, you lose.

I'm a student!

It's time to fight!

This is no coincidence.

This is happening because people need to be heard.

We're tired. We've had enough.

But most importantly, we've woken up.

Long live the national strike!

Protesters demand social and economic changes

that have yet to happen.

And the government isn't listening.

Hi, Fede. How are you?

How is everything going?

Did you see the protests this morning?

And the ones last night?

My head is about to explode

because we need the concert to be fucking amazing.

Okay, bye.

Balvin!

What's up, my king?

Can you say hello to Juan Andrés and María Luisa?

Yes.

Hey, Juan Andrés and María Luisa, "What's up?" from J Balvin.

Again. Again!

Hey, Juan Andrés and Maria Luisa, "What's up?" from José.

J Balvin. Let's go.

-Thank you. -No problem.

It's like a movie in here. Half of Medellín is here.

What's up?

Let's take pictures right now so I can work out.

-We all love you! -Thanks. I love all of you too.

People are very excited.

They're getting onto the machine next to him to take photos.

J Balvin is training here at my gym.

Will you be at the concert on Saturday?

Obviously!

We've invested our hearts and souls in this concert.

I'm grateful every day, my G. Every single day.

Thousands of Colombians were on the streets

in marches, protests and strikes.

There were 134 protests in the country and 184 marches,

according to the national police.

President Iván Duque wants to prevent demonstrations from turning violent

as they have in other countries in the region.

Did you see this?

Yes, I read it yesterday.

I don't get it. What is it that happened?

Because of what you said in Mexico, everybody tripped?

It's because I haven't spoken up about the protests.

Can you check what this guy said on here?

What was his name again?

Mañas Rufinest.

Here he is.

That sucks.

That guy is a total loser.

Mañas, how are you?