The promoters at Capitol EMI were intent on having us continue building our reputation on the international music scene after the success of Entre a Mi Mundo. This meant traveling abroad.
Jamaica was the most logical place to begin our international publicity blitz. We already had a fan base there, and it was a pretty quick flight to the shows from Virginia. Of course, none of us fully realized just how nerve-racking it would be to go from playing relatively small venues in the U.S. to playing large amphitheaters and doing interviews in Spanish in Jamaica.
We were scheduled to play in Kingston during our first trip, and there was mad press all day. We went from one interview to the next: radio, television, magazine journalists, you name it. Before the trip, I had helped Adonis practice saying his name and that he was the lead singer of the band in Spanish. I'll never forget the looks on Adonis's and everyone else's face when they found out that I, too, could speak Spanish fluently.
He kept repeating this phrase to himself like a mantra: "Mi nombre es Adonis Quiñones y soy el cantante principal de Adonis y El Delegación. Mi nombre es Adonis Quiñones y soy el cantante principal de Adonis y El Delegación." Although not everyone in Jamaica speaks Spanish, I knew how absurd the Jamaican journalists would think it was if we sang in Spanish but half us of couldn't even manage to speak in basic textbook phrases. But Adonis was determined not to embarrass the band-or himself.
Despite his good intentions and all of that practicing, he still managed to humiliate himself. During one of our first interviews with the radio DJs in Kingston, we all had to go down the line and introduce ourselves, just as we'd practiced. I watched as he froze up completely. When it was his turn, he used the verb "es" instead of "soy," essentially saying, "My name is Adonis Quiñones and he is the lead singer of the band." Naturally, everyone laughed at his expense, but I squeezed his hand in support.
"Baby, I told you how to say it," I jokingly scolded Adonis afterward.
"Damn! I know, baby. I know," he said miserably.
His only source of comfort was that some of us other band members stumbled around in Spanish, too. Adonis still rose to the challenge, as he always did. He was the one who really felt the media pressure, because by now everyone in Jamaica knew him not only from his music, but from the Coca-Cola commercials. He was already hugely popular in that country and crowds surrounded us everywhere we went, to the point where Adonis couldn't even get off the bus unless it was to duck into a hotel or go onstage.
