Everything was unlikely on the day I met Pedro Capó. Unlikely that I’d find a Puerto Rican pop star in Kensington and unlikely that, when I did meet Pedro Capó, the latest in a stream global Latin hit makers, along side Maluma and Bad Bunny, he was on his own, stretched out on a sofa, looking every bit the surfer dude.
Where was the entourage of PAs, PRs and other hangers on that usually surround Reggaeton heartthrobs? Instead, Pedro’s face lit up when I entered the room and he gasped ‘Woooow!’ I quickly realised he was looking at my baseball shirt which had Roberto Clemente written on it – Puerto Rico’s most famous baseball player.
There was a spontaneity to his gesture, however, that made me feel instantly at ease. I thought: ‘I’m gonna like this guy.’ Pedro Capó is not you average Reggaeton singer. At age of 38, he’s almost a veteran in this game and his journey to fame has been slightly different. Before hitting the charts himself with this single, the Puerto Rican starred in musicals on Broadway, whilst writing songs for other artists like Ricky Martin.
So I begin by asking, what it’s like coming from theatre to the world of massive YouTube views…
“Brother it’s a mad thing! I am still digesting this, very happy and learning. This is a different movement, a different speed, a different level. I’m really grateful to have the chance of getting a beautiful reception from the public and also that the message of the song, which is about well-being, is getting there. It is something needed nowadays. This song has that nice stamp of us Caribbean people, Puerto Rican people, our joy. That the world gets that vibe is genius!”
Pedro had been a successful artist, having recorded with Thalia and got well into the billboard Latino charts, when he kind of disappeared from the industry, before coming back with this hit. About that he says:
“I have always been careful and taken my time. I don’t like doing things for the sake of it. I was acting, doing a TV series, I lived in Mexico for a year and I also worked on Letras de Otros a documentary about iconic music covers of the 80s and 90s, which won a Grammy. I like feeling the times I’m in and…well, it’s been a transitional time in popular music, a time to take a step back, to listen, to watch and think about myself within all that equation. From that search came Calma, combining a pop melody with slowed-down Caribbean reggae, to create a fresh Latin sound.”
Indeed, in true Caribbean spirit, Pedro Capó doesn’t look like a man in a rush. In fact, unlike many famous people I’ve met, he is oddly comfortable in his own skin. He talks about all the amazing Venezuelan food in Miami at the moment, how he loves pabellon and arepas and we both reminisce about our countries and their troubles (he recently collaborated on Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Almost Like Praying" with Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, and Rita Moreno to raise funds for those affected by the hurricane in Puerto Rico).
For a moment I am not interviewing a star; we are two members of the Latin diaspora talking about home, the struggles of friends and family, in two beautiful but troubles countries. “People still haven’t recovered from the hurricane,” he laments. “They are having to live without water or light or basic amenities which is shameful.” Chatting with ease, I think its no wonder that the likes of Farruko were attracted to Pedro’s vibe.
“The way Farruko came into the project is part of the magic of this song,” Pedro confesses. “It was very organic. After I wrote the song, he contacted me via Instagram asking to collaborate and everything happened from there. I thought to myself, something could happen with this…”
The choice of Alicia Keys was also an interesting one, I comment, not perhaps the most obvious, but a great one…
“It was never in the marketing plan, because we didn’t have one!” Pedro laughs. “Farruko always said he thought the song communicated something special, like a vibe that was needed right now. Alicia was in Tulum on holidays with her husband Swizz Beatz, and the guys in the hotel were playing the tune all the time, and they started hearing the song wherever they went. When they got back, Swizz got in touch with his people in Sony and told them that Alicia wanted to jump on it. I felt honoured because I have massive respect for her.”
And the rest is history…as Pedro himself sums it up. “The numbers started to come in….”
“I am grateful that this kind of success is happening now that I’m 38 years old, because I’m mature enough to know that fame is an illusion.” Pedro continues. ”When you are young fame is like a kind of fog that blurs your vision and sometimes you can’t see things for what they are, that fame is something transient. Most songs don’t last forever. So you have to just keep working and be grateful for the recognition but never believe the hype. “
Perhaps the fact that Pedro descends from a tremendous musical legacy in Puerto Rico (most fans of Calma won’t know this) explains why he has a sense of himself. Pedro’s grandfather Bobby Capo was a heavy hitter of Puerto Rican Salsa who, alongside Tito Curet Alonzo are probably the two most important Puerto Rican composers of Salsa. So, if anyone should know about songs that last, it’s this grandson of music royalty. He laughs with pride as we reel off the songs together…
“El Negro Bembon, Que Te Pasa a Ti, El Imcomprendido, El Caballo Pelotero…are songs that will last forever…Piel Canela, Quizas Quizas…they are all standards. But he didn’t live thinking his songs would last forever, he was always working on new projects, and I cannot be going around forever as a nostalgia act with Calma (laughs).” I wonder if this family legacy has been driving force or a burden…
“Honestly, I’ve never seen it as a weight, although my dad did suffer from it. My father was a great singer-songwriter, but his name was Bobby Capo Jr, and my grandfather was simply El Maestro! I had a generation in-between to come to terms with my grandfather’s genius. If anything it has both inspired me and opened doors for me. I still had to prove that I was not just a surname, that I had my own talent, but I can’t deny it’s been a help. I am a real fan of my grandfather’s work; over 2000 songs registered, plus the ones that he did not register…he was a black man, from the countryside and with his talent he worked relentlessly to achieve great things. He is a symbol of pride for my family, for Puerto Rico and for Latin America, so I’m proud to have his DNA, to have been raised in such a musical family.”
Right now there are many new opportunities coming Pedro’s way. But his goal, Pedro says, is “to enjoy and to be present every day. Everything moves so fast that we sometimes forget to be, to enjoy.”
As we walk the streets of London, Pedro is soaking it all up, the red buses coasting along the grey grandeur of Kensington High Street, the black cabs, the eccentric details of Londoners. He smiles with that relaxed in-the-moment vibe that makes him so likeable, but at the same time you can tell he has the restlessness of an artist.
“I don’t want to force anything. There is a very fine line between doing something great and doing something that can badly harm your career, and the main thing is to keep your integrity. I keep writing, but I am not trying to do a Calma follow up. I am not chasing that. Calma came without me chasing anything. I am itching to release new music, regardless of my team’s strategy (laughs) but everything in its time.”
