Sebastián Yatra: "Being afraid to go out because you don't know if you're going to return eats you up inside"

The path of Sebastián Yatra (Medellín, 1994) began long before songs like

,

or

, his most recent success with Aitana, reached the most listened to lists.

He starts at just 12 years old, on the stage of the auditorium of a Miami school, which he climbed to represent a student montage of High School Musical as a transcript of the character played by Zac Efron.

Since then, this thoughtful and educated Colombian, with a perennial smile and a full schedule, boasts during a video call with

has “been adding a brick every day” to fulfill his dream.

The truth is that the building erected by Yatra during the last five years is one of the most stable and envied in the Latin industry.

Moving between the validity of urban rhythms and the update of the nineties ballad, his history accumulates numbers one, collaborations with music icons and millions of followers on social networks -up to 24 on Instagram-.

His new achievement is that of having become an ambassador for Impact, the latest Tommy Hilfiger fragrance, convinced, despite the gloom of the times, that the impact of a song can still change lives.

How does a twenty-something keep their feet on the ground when they become an international star?

I feel like I've been preparing for this my whole life.

This career is about giving, about music, not about fame.

You don't have to give it so much importance because everything takes a million turns, nothing should change our essence.

Has your explicit Catholic faith contributed in this regard?

Very much.

My relationship with God has been my north in the gray days, my energy to get up when I have fallen.

In the moments when I feel like I can't take it anymore, God is there.

Have you had a lot of those gray days?

Total!

My goal in life is to make good little decisions every day so that the percentage of gray days is much smaller than that of colorful ones.

You were born in Medellín in the mid-nineties, just after Pablo Escobar's death.

Do you have memory of that time?

I remember the insecurity and uncertainty caused by drug trafficking, the guerrillas, kidnappings ... That affected my family, my acquaintances and the entire country.

Being afraid when going out because you don't know if you are going to return eats you up inside.

Thank God Colombia has improved a lot this century, it is a safer place and a tourist paradise.

When you were only five years old, your family moved to Miami.

Did you ever feel discriminated against?

Nothing shocking has happened to me, but I have seen certain situations and felt certain things in some places.

Not only towards Latinos, but also towards African Americans, Asians ... Racism is not only a matter of the United States, it happens all over the planet and we have to fight it to eliminate it little by little.

That starts with us and our inner circle.

We live in a time when public figures are asked to get politically wet.

Do you feel that pressure?

I try not to get too involved because politics always ends up dividing us and each person has an opinion, depending on their experiences and circumstances.

Whatever happens, giving your opinion on politics you are going to get one, two or a hundred 'madrazos'.

The few times that I have said something, I don't think it has added much, maybe it has even subtracted.

You are the image of Tommy Hilfiger's new men's fragrance, Impact, which in its promotional campaign encourages us to “become who we are meant to be”.

When did you realize that you were destined to be a singer?

I set it as a goal since I was little and tried to add something every day that would lead to that dream.

Based on a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of love and desire.

The fragrance represents not only the dreams we have, but the desire and the ability to go for them.

You have collaborated with Spanish artists, given dozens of concerts and recorded several television programs.

What does Spain sound like to you?

Spanish music has influenced my life in a lot of ways and the soundtrack would be

by Alejandro Sanz.

Aute, Serrat ... there are so many composers that it blows my mind.

You mention Aute and Serrat.

Some may be surprised that a young, urban singer has them among his references.

I grew up listening to his music because it was what my parents heard in the car.

I began to pay attention to the lyrics and when I was little I understood that it is not about having just a great melody or a great letter, but a mixture of both.

Icons like Luis Miguel have been diluting his career away from the front line.

Is the industry tougher for Latino singers as they get older and stop being

Everyone has their moment and the moment is not necessarily synonymous with a career.

A career is that people love you no matter what moment you are in, if your last song was a hit or not.

Luis Miguel, Alejandro Fernández, Juanes, Alejandro Sanz, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin… whatever happens they have all our love and appreciation, because they have accompanied us throughout our lives.

What is the biggest challenge in music right now?

That people love you, not your songs.

You can listen to songs on your mobile or at the disco, but people go to a concert to see an artist and enjoy an experience that hopefully lasts for the rest of their lives.

Was the focus more on the artist a few years ago?

The challenge of making a song succeed is increasing because there is more supply, but the demand is the same.

Humans do not multiply, those who are 20 years old have all been born.

It's like in a video game: each level is more difficult, but also more rewarding.

Colombia is today one of the most fertile lands musically speaking.

How do you explain this simultaneous success of artists like J Balvin, Maluma or yourself?

There is a great music culture and an industry that does not stop growing.

If we talk about Medellín, where we are from J Balvin, Maluma, Karol G, Juanes, Piso 21 or me, we must say that the Antioqueño is a hard worker.

When you add talent to the effort, it multiplies and you build it as if it were a company.

I admire Balvin, for example, as a singer and as a businessman, because he has known how to build a brand and build something that very few artists have known.

Do you have to be a fool to sing love ballads in times of crisis, or is it precisely for this reason that they are more necessary than ever?

It is important to always sing to love and for me it has been the most beautiful thing of my career.

Being able to make these kinds of songs, when people hardly believed in ballads anymore, and make them sound

and fresh, is a challenge.

Even though I love them, I can't put out the same song as 20 years ago because it's already written.

Tell me one thing that you have given up in order to succeed.

To spend a lot of time with my family, with my friends… Also to educate myself for four years at the university as I would have liked.

I was only there for six months and I said to myself, "I have to take a chance now."

But I can't use the word sacrifice, because everything I've done has been out of passion.

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