PanAm Games theme song calls for brotherhood and friendship between nations

The rhythm of the official theme song of the Lima, Peru, PanAm Games is just too catchy to ignore and even though the lyrics are in Spanish, the fact that you hear the song at least one hundred times a day makes you feel an obligation to learn.

So I reached out to Andrea Vargas Linares, one of the liaison officers assigned to team St. Kitts and Nevis, and decided to learn at least the first few lines of the song, “Let’s All Play.”

After a few times acapella style, it was time to sing along with the music.

The records will show that I tried.
It is impossible to not notice the strong connection Peruvians feel to the official theme song. The more I spoke with Andrea, the more it became obvious as to why.

The Official Song of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games was written by renowned Peruvian singer Pedro Suarez-Vertiz.

It was unveiled over three months ago to mark “100 Days to Go to Lima 2019.”

Further investigations revealed that Suarez Vertiz is diagnosed with dysarthria, a condition in which problems effectively occur with the muscles that help produce speech, often making it very difficult to pronounce words.
Suarez Vertiz cannot sing anymore.

The song is performed by his band.

“It’s a song with heart, a song with energy, that invites us all to play and to get excited. This is the first time in our history that Peru is organising an event of such magnitude: the most important multisport event in the entire continent. And what better way than to receive all of the athletes than with a song of Peruvian rhythms, using instruments unique to our culture and talking about the friendship between our brother countries,” says the Peruvian musician.

Now when I hear the song, the energy that comes with it is even stronger.

Reporting from the PanAm Games in Lima, Peru, I am Shawn Seabrookes.