Carlos Vives on His Colombian Identity and Bringing Vallenato to the Pop Spotlight: ‘My Greatest Act of Rebellion’

Carlos Vives stops himself in mid-sentence and apologizes. He chokes up, overcome by a rush of the same raw, vulnerable emotion that informs his anthemic songs. Tears stream down his face — but they’re tears of joy or, at the very least, of sweet vindication. “I never expected anything,” the charismatic singer and thoughtful songwriter […]