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MARIO PUGLIA EARNS JUNO NOMINATION FOR LATIN MUSIC RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Bilingual Artist Recognised for Debut Album ‘‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’’ – A Layered, Soulful Exploration of Healing, Identity, and Growth
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TORONTO, ON – Bilingual indie-pop and Latin Urban artist Mario Puglia has received a JUNO Award nomination for Latin Music Recording of the Year for his debut album ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’, released via ABC Music. The recognition marks a landmark moment for the Toronto-raised multi-instrumentalist, whose warm, genre-defying sound – built at the intersection of Indie-Pop, R&B, and Latin Urban – has quietly been winning hearts across both English and Spanish-speaking audiences. The JUNO Awards Gala Presented by Music Canada takes place on Saturday, March 28th in Hamilton, Ontario, with The JUNO Awards Broadcast airing live nationwide on CBC and CBC Gem, and globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel, on Sunday, March 29th at TD Coliseum.
Self-taught on guitar, keys, and drums, Puglia brings a rare totality to his artistry: he writes, produces, and performs with the same fluid ease with which he navigates between Spanish and English. Born in Caracas and raised in Toronto, he carries both worlds in his music without choosing between them, building what he describes as a “refuge” for anyone who has ever felt like a citizen of nowhere and everywhere at once. His sound is warm and golden, impossible to pin to a single shelf – and ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’ is its fullest expression yet.
The title of the album translates to “I’ve Healed Several Things” – and the deliberate incompleteness of that phrase is the point. ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’ does not claim total healing. It acknowledges progress. Written across different cities and emotional seasons, the record documents a process rather than a conclusion, moving through anxiety, self-worth, presence, nostalgia, forgiveness, identity, and joy with the kind of honesty that requires both courage and humour. Sonically, the album blends organic textures with contemporary pop production, grounded yet expansive – reflective of a life lived between coastal calm and global cities. It is, as Puglia frames it, not a destination but a checkpoint: music for people who are growing in real time.
Two singles from the album offer a vivid window into the album’s emotional world. “Paz y Felicidad” was born at a writing retreat on a farm just outside Medellín – in a space owned by a manager who also worked with J Balvin – where Puglia gathered with producers Juan Cerro, Geogy Mills, and Pablo Melov. The song’s spark came from two Golden Retrievers on the property named Paz and Felicidad, who spent their days cheerfully chasing everyone with a tennis ball. “Peace and happiness are always chasing us, inviting us to play,” Puglia reflects. “Yet we often push them away, distracted or overwhelmed.” The song – and its video, filmed at Centro Ítalo, the Caracas soccer club where Puglia spent his childhood – became a joyful reminder to turn around and say yes.
The album’s second single, “vision board,” charts a quieter but equally resonant territory. Written in Ciudad de México during a period of relentless travel and emotional expansion, it captures what Puglia calls the duality of growth: “Nostalgia for where you come from and gratitude for where you are becoming.” Its lyrics carry that feeling with characteristic lightness: “Olvidar lo que me preocupa / me da chance para respirar / aunque esté lejos de casa / ¡qué bien se siente estar acá!” The video was shot in La Guaira, Venezuela – the oceanside neighbourhood where Puglia grew up – featuring archival footage of his parents and his younger self, surfing, yoga, and the intimate details of a life fully inhabited. It is, like the album itself, a love letter to presence.
With his JUNO nomination, Mario Puglia steps into a wider national spotlight as one of Canada’s most compelling emerging bilingual voices – an artist whose music speaks fluently to the complexity of the diaspora experience, and whose debut album stands as one of the year’s most emotionally generous records. ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’ is available now on all streaming platforms. The winners will be revealed on stage in Hamilton, Ontario at The JUNO Awards Gala Presented by Music Canada on Saturday, March 28th, and The JUNO Awards Broadcast at TD Coliseum on Sunday, March 29th, live nationwide on CBC and CBC Gem and globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel.
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Eric Alper
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