Today, August 9, officially marks Juanes’ 50th birthday! The Colombian superstar, born Juan Estebán Aristizábal Vásquez, celebrates today another wonderful year full of accomplishments and, most of all, music!

Juanes has been one of the Latin music rock figureheads since his start in 1988. Since then, he’s been shifting his sound and delivering classics with it. Can you believe that one of his most popular tracks, “La Camisa Negra,” has been out for nearly two decades?

Well, the man continues to jam and is still going hard at it. He’s currently on his global “Origen 2022” tour, promoting his homonymous latest album released last year. I mean, we all know age doesn’t matter in rock ‘n roll!

To celebrate his musical legacy, let’s dig into five things you may not know about him. You might be surprised by some of these facts!

Juanes used to be in a rock band called ‘Ekhymosis’

Full on rockero, for sure. Pre-solist days, Juanes along with Andrés García, Fernando “Toby” Tobón, and José David Lopera jammed together from 1988 to 1997. Now, the band plays without him and consists of different members.

Juanes is a huge Metallica fan

Since his teenage days, Juanes has been known to be a Metallica fan. He cemented the fact by being part of Metallica’s cover collection celebrating “The Black Album”’s 30th anniversary. Juanes covered “Enter Sandman.” What’s more, in 2019, he even covered one of the metal band’s tracks, “Seek and Destroy,” during his performance at Rock Al Parque. 

Metallica wrote on a Twitter post: “We’re blown away by the reception our friend @juanes received in Bogota for his awesome rendition of Seek!” A full circle moment happened during the Latin Grammy Awards later that year when Metallica’s band member Lars Ulrich gave Juanes his award for Person Of The Year. Epic story, right? 

Juanes was the face of Latin Rock at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammys

Though the 2nd annual Latin Grammy awards never made it on air – due to the horrific Sept. 11 events – it was meant to be a huge year for Juanes. This year, he garnered seven Latin Grammy nominations for his debut album “Fijate Bien” and won a total of three. It was a big moment for Latin Rock and is still remembered to this day.

Juanes has made many television appearances, including ‘Sesame Street’

Yes! It’s true! During his 2011 appearance, he sang “Muevete.”

Juanes is a vegetarian

He has often said he is a vegetarian, saying, “the result is that I feel great, more energized for everything I do.”

How will you celebrate the Colombian pop rocker’s birthday today?