Heart and soul: Colombian singer-superstar Juanes is raising awareness about the devastating effects of landmines in his country and throughout the world.

• Author: Holston, Mark
• Position: Interview

In the past decade, tens of thousands of Colombians have become personally involved in efforts co combat one of their strife-torn country's most daunting issues: landmines. An insidious byproduct of modern warfare, landmines contaminate virtually every corner of this South American nation of 45 million inhabitants. Despite a multitude of efforts to resolve the civil conflict, remove explosive devices, and deal with the physical and psychological toll of landmine incidents, not a day passes without new victims joining the ranks of the dead and maimed. It's a dilemma that won't soon be resolved.

One well known Colombian became an anti landmine activist in very particular circumstances, and his involvement quickly thrust him into a leadership role. In 1999 a largely unheralded rock singer named Juanes penned a tune called "Fijate bien." Its piercing lyrics probed the sad realities of landmines and their many victims.

Te han quintado lo que tienes Te han robado el pan del dia Te han sacado de tus tierras Y no parece que termina aqui.... Despojado de tu casa Vas sin rumbo en la ciudad Sos el hijo de la nada Sos la vida que se va. Son los ninos, san, los viejos Son las madres, somos todos caminando No te olvides de esto no, no, no .... Fijate bien donde pisas Fijate cuando caminas No vaya a ser que una mina Te desbarate los pies amor. They've taken what you have stolen your daily bread run you off of your lands and it looks like it doesn't end there.... Homeless now you wander in the city you are the child of nothing of the life that goes by. They are the children the old people they are the mothers all of us walking Don't forget this no, no, no .... Look carefully where you're stepping watch where you walk don't let a mine destroy your feet, my love .... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Like all good music, the song entertained its audience, but it also did much more; it started a social revolution. "Fijate bien was released in 2000, and immediately many victims of the landmines started to attend my concerts," the 36-year old superstar recalls of the reaction to his song. "I started to visit with them and listen to their stories, and I became really involved with the issue. When I learned more about the statistics, I said that as a citizen, as a colombiano, I needed to do something for my people. So, I started working with different organizations to see it we could do something to improve the situation."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Juanes was born Juan Esteban Aristizabal Vasquez in Medellin in 1972. His professional name, a contraction of his first two names, is a moniker given to him by his late father. The singer, composer, and guitarist began his career in music in the 1980s with a Colombian metal band, Ekymosis, before going it alone in the late 1990s. Fijate bien was his first album as a solo artist, and it drew immediate international acclaim. The New York Times, citing the composer's "soul-searching" themes that addressed the realities of Colombia's civil war, lauded Juanes for "facing down violence and mortality." The LA Times called the album "an uncompromising work of almost nihilistic disillusion...