Fonseca

At age 12, Colombian pop singer Fonseca sold all 500 copies of his self-released debut album, Bomba de Tiempo, door to door. ∙ His Grammy Award-winning 2005 single, “Te Mando Flores,” spent 22 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. ∙ Fonseca spearheaded the 2008 national talent search Canta Conmigo, which provided music training for 12 ex-FARC guerrillas, who later recorded an album overseen by the singer. ∙ His 2011 LP, Ilusión, was certified Diamond in Colombia and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tropical Fusion Album. ∙ Colombian model/dancer Laura Calderón costarred with the singer in the video for 2015’s “Y No Me Faltas,” which received more than 1 million views in its first five days. ∙ Ringo Starr recorded a bilingual version of the peace anthem “Now the Time Has Come” with Fonseca in 2017 to mark the Colombian peace deal with the FARC insurgent group. ∙ In 2018, he received one of Colombia’s highest honors, the Order of Boyacá in the Degree of Officer, in recognition of his work to promote peace.