Me

“Come on, let’s make some noise!”
    When we got to the center of the field all nervousness disappeared and the magic of the event took over me. It was four minutes of pure euphoria. The stadium was filled with people from all over the world on their feet dancing to the music. Hearing the crowds clapping and screaming, I felt a massive surge of joy and strength. That performance, for me, was a singular experience . . . a gift sent to me by life. Another moment I will never forget. Absolutely everything was in place, and the crowd’s adrenaline made me understand the reason for all my efforts and sacrifices. We had worked like savages to get to this moment, and the victory was now at our fingertips. I broke my knuckles busting down walls so I could get into Menudo, become a solo artist, and gain the support of Latin American, Asian, and European audiences. And the applause and screams on that night at the World Cup were the beautiful acknowledgment of all that arduous work.
    But there was no time to rest on my laurels. All of the acknowledgment I received in France was extraordinary, but we had to keep moving forward. We just couldn’t stop and accept the glory as a matter of fact. When life gives you an opportunity, you have to give it your all and then some. You must fight and struggle to forge your own path. Which is exactly what I continued to do.

CROSSING OVER
    AFTER CONQUERING ASIA, Europe, and Latin America, I set my sights on the United States and on my so-called crossover—my transition to the English-language marketplace. And to keep the momentum that we had going, we decided that while I did the promotion for Vuelve with a forty-four-concert tour, I would also return to the studio to work on my first English-language album. This time I didn’t care what I had to do; my goal was to achieve everything I set out for myself. That meant I had to give it my all, and that’s how it would have to be. The months when I promoted Vuelve while simultaneously recording in the studio were incredibly intense. Granted, I had already done something like this when I recorded Ricky Martin while simultaneously shooting Alcanzar una estrella , and when I recorded Vuelve as I promoted A medio vivir . . . but this time the record I was making demanded a lot more from me. With the success of “La Copa de la Vida” there were many more requests for interviews and autographs, and I always tried to have a friendly, positive, and energetic attitude about it. I’d agree right away. If they needed me for a magazine photo shoot, I’d eagerly say yes. If they wanted me to sign a giant pile of CDs, “Of course!” I would eagerly respond. If they would request interviews, it was always, without a doubt, a yes, yes, yes, but it was exhausting.
    I said yes to everything because I wanted the entire world—and more than anything, the United States—to notice me. That crossover to the American market meant so much to me that I was willing to do anything at all to make it happen. But despite all the enthusiasm with which I pursued my new goal, I could already see the dangers that lurked behind it. With the success of “María” and “La Copa de la Vida,” I had already seen a glimmer of what fame as a solo artist was really like, and I didn’t like it one bit. I remember I even mentioned this in an interview I did around that time for El Nuevo Herald : “Every day that passes,” I said, “I am more and more fearful of fame.” It was ironic, I explained; the more I knew it, the more it scared me. And the more it scared me, the more appealing it was to me.
    In the depths of my soul I knew I needed to take some distance to rest and think about everything that was happening to me, but somehow it never seemed to be the right time. In fact, at one point I wanted to take a sabbatical. I had it all organized; the plan was to disconnect for a little while and go traveling, but just at that exact moment, while we were in Singapore on one of the tour stops, my agent called to let me know that Vuelve had been nominated for a Grammy Award. And that wasn’t all: The organizers wanted me to perform live on the night of the awards ceremony. So despite the rest and relaxation I may have needed, how could I possibly say no? It was out of the question. An invitation to perform on the Grammy Awards show is an extraordinary honor, which many artists never receive in their entire career, and I simply could not say, “So sorry, gentlemen.