Go Away With … Andrés Cepeda

By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune and other outlets
December 12, 2023

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 popular 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.”

Born and raised in Bogota, where he still resides, Cepeda stays in touch with fans on social media where his user handle is @Andrescepeda. For up-to-date concert information, check out his website.

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 the 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 concert 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 every city different. Everyone has different expressions and ways of enjoying my music, making it very 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: What was a trip you took as a child that stands out?
A: I remember my parents took me to Europe as a very young child. I was around five or six years old and didn’t enjoy it so much. I have fond memories, but I was too young. I don’t remember it so much, but some images and some flashes come now and then about the trip.

Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A: To appreciate other cultures and understand many different ways to see and perceive the world around me. In this travel, knowing people, different living styles and understanding the world are the most important things I’ve learned through traveling.

Q: If you could only pick one place to eat, would you prefer a food truck or fine dining?
A: I would prefer fine dining. I like good food and good wine. And being around a lovely table in a nice place with good food stimulates excellent conversations. So, I enjoy that overall.

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: What are some of your favorite cities?
A: New York City, Paris, Rome, Bogota, Buenos Aires and Mexico City.

Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A: I would like to go to India. I’ve never been there and I think it would be an excellent culture – cities to experience and food.

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 when you’re 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 on the road.

Q: What kind of research do you do prior to a trip?
A: I usually research mostly restaurants. I enjoy nice hotels so I try to research and book nice hotels and restaurants. I also do some tourism and again I explore places to rent and sail boats.

Q: What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A: Well, one of my best vacation memories would probably be my honeymoon, which was about six years ago. We went to Europe. We went to Los Cabos, too. There was a lot of sailing, nice fine dining and, of course, the fun of being just married. And my worst vacation was in Cuba. It didn’t work out well. I was expecting to find a lot of culture and a lot of music. I guess I just wasn’t lucky. It was not a good time to be there. And I cut my vacation short because I wasn’t enjoying it.

© 2023 JAE-HA KIM
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