Jorge Drexler

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Although he showed an interest in music from a young age, Jorge Drexler studied medicine, like much of his family, and became an otolaryngologist—an ear, nose and throat specialist. During his studies, he took some time off and hitchhiked his way around Brazil. He later recorded two independent albums in his native Uruguay. These little-heard records somehow reached the ears of well-known Spanish singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina. Sabina invited Drexler to Madrid in 1995 and introduced him to the Spanish music industry. Soon after, he moved to Spain and began recording a string of moderately successful albums. A decade later, Drexler’s most famous hit ‘Al Otro Lado del Río’ appeared in the 2004 Che Guevara biopic The Motorcycle Diaries, for which he became the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award. He later won five ASCAP Latin Music Awards for his work with Colombian superstar Shakira, writing Spanish-language versions of her hits, such as ‘She Wolf’. Drexler’s dexterity extends to the musical genres he has covered in his 13 studio albums, combining Uruguayan traditional music with bossa nova, pop, jazz, electronic and rap. His latest album, Salvavidas de Hielo (2017), is a gentle return to the acoustic samba with which he started his career. 

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