‘Despacito’ singer Fonsi uses music to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s

Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, 44, said he is using his music to create greater awareness of Alzheimer’s. The artist began to want to understand more about the disease after his grandmother developed the condition.

“We should talk about it, read and learn. I didn’t know that we Latinos were the most affected,” he began, in an interview with People. “You start talking to people, to friends, it’s like, ‘Yes, my aunt. Yes, my grandfather.’ And then you’re like: We all need to talk about this.”

He says he has an emotional connection to the cause, as his grandmother is currently battling the disease and no longer recognizes him. “I grew up with her, I’m the oldest in the family. My parents worked a lot when we lived in Puerto Rico, so I always stayed with her,” he recalled.

Fonsi said her grandmother was the singer in the family, and that even with Alzheimer’s she still remembers all her favorite songs. “All she does is sing. She doesn’t remember much. However, there’s only one file, this hard drive in her head, that she won’t forget any of her favorite songs. And I think it’s so beautiful,” he says. .

Now the artist hopes to raise awareness and “open the conversation about Alzheimer’s”. The singer considers his role a “beautiful responsibility”, and he is now part of the Music Moments campaign with the Alzheimers Association.