Currently, the series 'Arelys Henao: I sing to not cry' is the most watched of the nights in Colombia; because the story of the 'queen of popular music' has touched the hearts of many Colombians, and as expected, the artist surprised her followers and viewers of the production with an almost unexpected journey for his native Sabanalarga.
The municipality, located four hours from Medellín, is made up of nine thousand inhabitants, who according to her have been responsible for keeping the urban area alive; but despite that she felt nostalgia, even visiting the place that saw her grow up and give her first steps in popular music that, at that time, was male-dominated.
“It is hard for me to come here because, if we stay silent for a moment, we hear the sound of the people, but I no longer hear the sound of my father or that of my brother Martín. I only have cousins here, -also- an aunt named Maruja Henao; I have my cousin Teresa Correa, but in reality -it feels- like the noise of nostalgia,” the singer said in dialogue with the program La Red, taking a later tour of the town square and the church where she held her first communion.
“I came to this church every eight days, to pray, and obviously to ask God to help me realize my dreams,” Arelys explained. He also recalled some anecdotes with his mother, whom he referred to as a hardworking person who got him the dress for that ceremony by selling empanadas.
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Another thing he remembered was when he first landed in the municipality with his family, indicating that he would be about 10 years old; in addition, he revealed that they got there “because of the mishap of what happened to the guy who was chasing me there on the sidewalk and that thanks to my mother and dad they rescued me” and even showed the corner of the park where she sold cassettes from 'Charrito Negro', Darío Gómez and Luis Alberto Posada, among other icons of 'despecho' music.
Her childhood was marked by the interruption of her dream of being a singer from many sectors, starting with her family, because from a very young age her father told her that this profession “was not for the poor” and from there she began her artistic path not only in that town but also in Liborina, where she made, in real life, the concert where her musicians did not accompany her. There, he took the opportunity to recall the scene that was recreated in 'Song to not cry'.
“I was about 13 years old and I was very sorry because I came by myself, I got on the bus and said I was coming to Libolina to participate in a competition and they charged me for the ticket, to which I said -to the driver- 'No, respect, the artists don't pay' (...) thousands of things happened that day, and well, in the end they called me to give me an acknowledgment,” said the interpreter, adding that she suffered an act of harassment on behalf of a drunk subject who wanted to approach her.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that she and her family left Sabanalarga because of the internal armed conflict; by that time she was 18 years old; however, several relatives remain there and she takes advantage of every possible opportunity to visit them and recall her first steps.
Next, the tour of Arelys Henao through Sabanalarga and Liborina Antioquia:
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