Paz Sin Fronteras

Paz sin Fronteras^[1] (Peace without Borders) refers to a series of free outdoor concerts led by the Colombian singer Juanes along with other internationally recognized artists. The first string of concerts took place in 2008 along the Colombia–Venezuela border on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge. The second took place in 2009 in Cuba's Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square), and a third was planned for Caracas, Venezuela in 2013.^[2] The purpose of the first concert was to reaffirm the nonviolence message that Colombians, Venezuelans, and Ecuadorians are South American brothers, independent of the relation between the political orientation of shifting governments. It was organized by Juanes, who in turn was the show's host.^[3] It took place on March 16, 2008, between 1:35 pm and 5:40 pm (GMT) on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge, on the Colombia–Venezuela border located between the city of Cúcuta in Colombia (specifically the Metropolitan municipality of Villa de Rosario) and the town of San Antonio del Táchira in Venezuela.

Paz sin Fronteras began as an initiative against the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis between Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela, after Colombian forces invaded Ecuadorian territory in the Santa Rosa Bombardment of 2008. This bombardment took place as a result of the death of Raúl Reyes, second in command of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).^[4] These border violations of the neighboring country generated a crisis that included the movement of Venezuelan and Ecuadorian troops to the borders. This crisis ended with the Rio Group meeting on Friday, March 7, 2008, in the Dominican Republic.

The artists that participated in the first concert were Alejandro Sanz, Juan Fernando Velasco, Carlos Vives, Juan Luis Guerra, Miguel Bosé,^[5] and Ricardo Montaner, in addition to Juanes. None of the artists or the individuals in charge of the concert received any payment for their services, as the event was a free outdoor concert with the purpose of serving as a symbol of peace in the region^{[citation needed]}. According to the calculations^[which?], more than 300,000 people attended the concert^{[citation needed]}.

The second concert took place in Havana on the stage of La Plaza de la Revolución in front of more than 1.2 million people. The audience was made up of mostly Cubans, with foreigners including tourists and students. Juanes and his guests closed the concert of Paz Sin Fronteras Project in Havana.

The artists who attended included Juanes, Olga Tañón, Danny Rivera, Miguel Bosé, Víctor Manuelle, Luis Eduardo Aute, Juan Fernando Velasco, Jovanotti, Amaury Pérez, Silvio Rodríguez, Orishas, Carlos Varela, X-Alfonso, Cucu Diamantes, Yerba Buena and Los Van Van, singing together in a finale chorus for peace, in the second concert of Paz sin Fronteras.^{[citation needed]}