CHAYANNE: A 20-YEAR-OLD PIRATE
(By Maricarmen Tudón)

CHAYANNE: "Has it been difficult? Of course! This is a beautiful career, but it's full of obstacles, especially if you get the opportunity to leave your own country and make yourself known in other parts of the world. In my case, I started when I was very young in Puerto Rico. My career then began to grow until I was able to sing in other places like Mexico, where I've always been very well received; but, again, this is not easy."

MARICARMEN: By beginning your career at such a young age, were you robbed of that beautiful childhood that all of us ought to enjoy?

CHAYANNE: "I wasn't a normal child, and I don't mean that I was deformed -he smiles as he makes this comment- but the fact that you're always doing promotional work and touring; surrounded by lights, girls, and people completely removed from you and your private life, is very difficult to assimilate by a young boy who knows very little about life. Fortunately, I have a beautiful family who has instilled in me principles that are never forgotten and which help a lot when being in this business."

MARICARMEN: Do you feel free or tied down to a chaotic world?

CHAYANNE: "I'm going to confess to something I've never said publicly before but that is true….I feel lonely sometimes. Yes, lonely, even when surrounded by people. Let me explain….all of us who live in the entertainment world, or at least, most of us, have an inner life that sometimes even ourselves don't know. There could be moments when you have all the material things available, but there is a certain something that all of us wish for and that you can't buy at any store around the corner."

MARICARMEN: What are you referring to when you say….a certain something?

CHAYANNE: "I don't know, love perhaps; understanding; tenderness, companionship….and I don't necessarily mean from a woman, although that would be great. I'm referring to love from your mother, brother, father, some relative or friend."

MARICARMEN: What do your yearn for?

CHAYANNE: "The days when I used to go fishing. When I was five or six years-old, I liked getting up early, almost at daybreak, and go fishing in the sea with my friends. I wasn't very good at those things back then, but I remember that when I was walking behind those strong men who carried their nets, I, like a wind-up toy, would get close to them. At their side, I used to feel big and important."

MARICARMEN: Would you trade your success to go back to that life; to the sea?

CHAYANNE: "Well, the sea is another one of my great passions, as much as my career. But there are differences between one and the other. The sea is beautiful but dangerous at times. There, you find great mysteries and you can create your own far way and solitary world, and at the same time, full of that something wonderful we call nature. Nevertheless, my career, that, as I mentioned before is very difficult and full of insecurities, I would never trade for anything. Being a singer implies traveling, triumphs, failures, friends and enemies. Friends that fortunately are plenty: applause, flowers, affection from the audience…..uff!….so many things! Do you think that I'm going to trade all that for my childhood that is already part of the past; for the sea, that I can enjoy at any moment?

MARICARMEN: Is it difficult for you to come back to reality after having dreamt a little with your past?

CHAYANNE: "Of course not, girl! The past is already gone and the future hasn't arrived yet, it's unreal. We must live the beautiful reality of the present, to be able to grow a little each day."

MARICARMEN: You say the future is unreal, but have you ever thought about how you'd like to see yourself many years from now?

CHAYANNE: "Truthfully, yes. Once in a while, your imagination peeks into that window where you see beautiful, but far away things. I imagine myself professionally fulfilled and old already; retired, living in a house in the country surrounded by my family, because I hope that by the time that happens, I'm a grandfather already."

MARICARMEN: Have you fallen seriously in love?

CHAYANNE: "Love hasn't arrived yet. I don't believe I've known true love. I've had girlfriends and friends I have felt love for, but I believe true love is something much more than that. For me, it's something more than sharing a simple bed and a house. You must be able to understand the person with whom you're thinking of creating a life with. I hope that couples that come together for love, don't ever separate because if they got together for love, why end it?

MARICARMEN: Do you believe in marriage?

CHAYANNE: "Perhaps I don't have the experience to talk about these things, but I believe in love and that it's not necessary to tie yourself legally or socially to someone to show everyone that you're not against the rules. As long as you're convinced of what you want and whom you love, it's sufficient."

-MARICARMEN-

"Based on the answers Chayanne has given us throughout this interview, we are able to appreciate that in a few years, he has not only grown physically (plenty, in fact) but, because he lives in the middle of a whirlwind ….presentations, interviews, recordings, photographs, autographs….he has also matured emotionally. Congratulations, Chayanne."