{"id":1145,"date":"2022-11-20T12:26:59","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T03:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/?p=1145"},"modified":"2022-11-20T12:26:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T03:26:59","slug":"what-futbol-means-to-me-johann-vera-on-ecuadors-perseverance-and-spirit-during-2022-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/?p=1145","title":{"rendered":"What Futbol Means to Me: Johann Vera on Ecuador\u2019s Perseverance and Spirit During 2022\u00a0World\u00a0Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tIn honor of the 2022 FIFA\u00a0World Cup<\/a>\u00a0in Qatar, which kicks off Nov. 20,\u00a0<\/em>Billboard\u00a0has reached out to\u00a0Latin<\/a>\u00a0artists who are big f\u00fatbol fans to ask what the sport means to them. For our second installment, we spoke to Ecuadorian pop singer<\/em> Johann Vera, who is a self-declared soccer aficionado and is ready to support La Selecci\u00f3n Ecuatoriana during the tournament<\/em>.\u00a0Below, read Vera\u2019s \u201cWhat F\u00fatbol Means to Me,\u201d as told to <\/em>Billboard.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\tMy first memory with soccer, now that I\u2019m thinking about it, was in Guayaquil in my house. I liked playing it in my backyard. I have to be honest, I\u2019m not the biggest soccer fan but I understand the euphoria it causes and I\u2019ve lived it, and I think that the feeling doesn\u2019t compare to anything else. I remember that for Ecuador\u2019s first World Cup in 2002, I was about six years old, and remember hearing the entire city screaming \u201cgoal\u201d and celebrating. That emotion of seeing an entire country united is not produced by anything else. The country could be facing a bad situation but that goal changes everything.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve always wanted to do a song for my country and I thought it was very important to bring that patriotic feeling. I feel that being an Ecuadorian artist living in the exterior, you realize how important and magical your country is. Ever since I began my career, I had my country and flag very present in everything I do. I worked on \u201cDonde Nac\u00ed\u201d by myself \u2014 it\u2019s a gift that I wanted to give to my country. This song, and the World Cup, bring positivity and joy to my country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOnce the song was done, I wanted to send it to the Ecuadorian Football Federation to see different ways I can promote it. Everyone loved the song but it was too late, and that\u2019s when I changed the song\u2019s chorus to: \u201cThey tell me no, I say yes, that\u2019s how we are where I was born.\u201d I believe that I owe this spirit of perseverance 100% to my country. I released the song only on social media, and a lot of people in my country began reacting to it and creating content with it, and I felt, at that moment, that I already won.<\/p>\n

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\n\tI\u2019m a fan of la tri, of my team, because they represent my country. I feel that living in the exterior, your flag weighs more. I may not be the biggest soccer fan in the world but if la tri is playing, I\u2019m there.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m confident that this will be the best World Cup for Ecuador. Winning the entire tournament may seem so unreachable, but why not? We have an incredible team. If Ecuador were to win the World Cup, it will signify so much. Going beyond f\u00fatbol, I think it will change the situation in our country and will mark a rebirth. <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of the 2022 FIFA\u00a0World Cup\u00a0in Qatar, which kicks off Nov. 20,\u00a0Billboard\u00a0has reached out to\u00a0Latin\u00a0arti […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"location":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1145"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1145"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azucar.link\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Flocation&post=1145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}