Josué Monroy one year after his exile: “I will continue making music wherever I am”

On April 14, a year passed since Nicaraguan musician and singer Josué Monroy was banished from Nicaragua by police agents of Daniel Ortega's regime, who abandoned him without papers at the border with Honduras after having made him sign a document forbidding him to return to his country. Today, he is in exile in Barcelona, Spain, a city where he found the opportunity to reinvent himself as an artist. 

“I am at a critical moment in my life where I must find the courage to move forward,” says the former vocalist of the band Monroy y Surmenage.

A new beginning in the midst of adversity

During his first four months of exile in Honduras he was hosted by a Honduran family in Tegucigalpa. “I met wonderful people. I met many musicians and played four concerts,” he says.

With the support of that family, in September of last year, he was able to travel to Spain, the country that granted him political asylum, and where he works as a waiter at a restaurant. “At first it was very difficult to find the rhythm of customer service, but I have always liked to be attentive and thoughtful towards people, in the same way I am at my concerts,” he says. “I want to take advantage of it to keep learning and reinforce my knowledge as a musician,” he continues.

Last April 12, Monroy announced on social media that he had formed a new musical band in Barcelona, a year after the dictatorship arrested him at his house for allegedly “disturbing the peace,” a few days after singing “El ojo del huracán” (The Eye of the Hurricane) at a concert, a song he wrote about the civic rebellion of April 2018.

“There’s four of us but we don't have a name yet. Three of us are Nicaraguan and the drummer is Uruguayan. I met them all here,” he says with enthusiasm.

He is also currently working on a new studio album with his band. He describes it as a combination of “rhythms and cultures, but without forgetting the Nicaraguan sound.”

“I always try to listen to all genres and study them to get new sounds, a sound of my own. In addition, everyone adds something they like and that's how we build the songs,” he explains.

This new musical project represents a before and after in his personal and artistic life.

“It is a point of reflection because I started listening to Gustavo Cerati and now I'm listening to Chilean music, Argentine music, to try to build something new,” he says.

This new album will include two songs dedicated to Nicaragua, which portray what he felt when he was expelled from the country. “It's a feeling like when you are abruptly taken away from your mother. That's what I felt when they threw me out,” he expresses with difficulty.

The support of the Nicaraguan and Spanish community 

Despite all the difficulties that come with living in a country that is not one's own, the support of the Nicaraguan community in Spain has allowed him to continue to grow artistically. “I have met people in the street who tell me that my songs are good. Nicaraguans who tell other people about me. Every time they tell me they like my songs, it motivates me. I am very grateful to all the Nicaraguans I have met along the way. To all the Latinos,” he says with a smile.

The Spanish community has also been a great support. “They know a bit of my story and are quite empathetic. They've been incredible with me,” he assures.

“If I don’t make music, I feel like I am withering away”

In the coming months, he plans to continue focusing on projecting his new musical band, learning piano, and continuing to adapt to Spanish culture. Abandoning music is not an option. “Music is what has allowed me to keep my posture and move forward,” he says. 

Monroy and his band will offer their first concert on May 13 at The Wild Geese Sabadell bar in Plaza del Angel, Sabadell, Spain.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our Staff