With songs about love, politics, religion, and daily life, Ricardo Arjona conquered the Latin American public and set a new standard for author's song in Hispanic pop. Today, with millions of records sold, international tours, and a legion of loyal fans, his story remains that of a man who never stopped writing about what he sees, feels, and dreams.
During those years, he worked as a schoolteacher and composed songs in his spare time, without giving up on his calling. The turning point came at the end of the '80s when he moved to Mexico, a country that would be key to his consecration.
Before filling stadiums and becoming one of the most popular singer-songwriters in Latin America, Ricardo Arjona was a young dreamer from Jocotenango, Guatemala, who found in music a way to tell stories.
His path was not immediate or easy: before being recognized for his poetic pen and unmistakable style, he had to go through years of searching, trial, and perseverance.
Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales was born on January 19, 1964, and grew up in a home where education and culture held a central place: his father was a teacher, a figure that would deeply mark his life and his view of the world.
There, he began to perform in small bars and cafes, armed only with his guitar and his inexhaustible wit for writing everyday lyrics, loaded with irony, social criticism, and romanticism. This unique mix caught the attention of local producers, and in 1988 he managed to record his first author's album, Jesus, Verb Not Noun, a work that reflected his direct, reflective, and committed style.
From that moment on, his career took off.
He even managed to join the Guatemala national basketball team before deciding that his destiny lay on a different kind of stage.
His first attempt in the music industry came at the age of 21 with the album Let Me Say I Love You (1985). From a young age, he showed an interest in music and learned to play the guitar, but in his adolescence, his main passion was basketball.
But behind the global phenomenon, there is a Guatemalan teacher who one day decided to change the chalkboard for a microphone.
That debut, with a romantic sound and traditional production, went almost unnoticed, and Arjona distanced himself from the artistic environment for a while.