Ten-year-old Sebastian Mejia, who suffers from several serious health conditions, says he never dreamed he would meet his idol, Colombian singer Jorge Celedón.
Then one day, the youngster’s mother, Maria Fernanda Gutierrez, happened to see a Miami radio station remote truck on the street. She told the 107.5 Amor employees on the truck that Sebastian had always wanted to meet Celedón and they made arrangements for the singer to surprise him at the station on Tuesday.
“It was my dream come true,” said Sebastian, who is ill with diseases including Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome, hypoglycemia and Von Willebrand Disease. “We danced, we sang and we were interviewed. I’ve listened to him since I was 3 and I’ve always loved him. I will never forget when the song started playing, I saw him, ran towards him and hugged him.”
Sebastian enjoys listening to Celedón’s music before undergoing medical procedures.
On Tuesday, Celedón gave Sebastian and his mother tickets to a MegaRumba Colombia concert event to be held at noon Saturday at Tamiami Park.
On Tuesday, Celedón gave Sebastian and his mother tickets to a MegaRumba Colombia concert event to be held at noon Saturday at Tamiami Park.
Along with the tickets came an invitation for Sebastian to sing with Celedón on-stage during his performance.
The annual MegaRumba Colombia concert celebrates that country’s Independence Day, July 20. The festival — this year on July 16 — is a one-day parade of people coming together to celebrate their heritage, and it is produced by SWARM, the company also in charge of curating events such as Grovetoberfest, Wynwood Art Walk, Cinco de Mayo Brickell and Basel House.
Tickets start at $15. Attendees can eat Colombian finger food, buy typical ornaments, hats and souvenirs, drink coffee and enjoy Grammy award-winning and nominated artists.
“I’m very excited to be sharing the stage with ChocQuibTown, with Niche, with Reykon; that will always be an honor,” said Celedón, who sings a traditional Colombian genre known as Vallenato.
Other genres to be presented by native Colombian artists are salsa by Grupo Niche, hip-hop by ChocQuibTown, reggae by Locos Por Juana and reggaeton by Reykon.
“You always want to bring joy to Colombians living internationally with your music, when they listen to it, and the fact that many of them have transmitted that music to others who live here, so I think it will be very exciting for many and it will bring many positive outcomes,” Reykon said. “The festival is Colombian, but the expectations are bigger, meaning that we are expecting people from all over to attend and enjoy the Colombian festivities and our music.
