I had the pleasure to meet and have coffee with inspiring Latin musician Juan Cruz who impressed me with his 'zass' for love, life and music. I couldn't stop but admire his passion and talent. I knew there was something special about him...His bio says:
Juan Cruz is a singer and songwriter whose sound melds classic Latino romantic ballad forms with 21st century beats in a pop style that is uniquely his own. Best known as Juan Cruz, he was born in Formosa, Argentina in 1994. His interest in the arts in general and music in particular began at age nine when he began taking guitar lessons and writing his own songs. At 15 he was sufficiently drawn to urban Latin styles such as reggaeton due to its inventive beats. This music made such an impression that he decided to incorporate them into his musical process. He said in an interview, "I love the melodic base of both genres; however, I do not seem to make a connection with the lyrics. I prefer the retro-Latin ballads."
Cruz had embarked on several projects in varying styles and genres -- all of which he abandoned after a 2015 meeting with Ariel Remold, founder and chief A&R officer at Sonido Onírico Producciones. He was signed to the label as both a recording artist and a songwriter. Remold mentored Cruz by helping him to hone his style, which resulted in the first collaboration by the pair, the 2018 worldwide debut single "Vente Conmigo." The track gained airplay at a number of radio stations in the United States and in Latin America.
What inspired you to do music and when did this passion start?
Music is something that becomes part of your life from the moment you realize how good it feels when people put melodies and lyrics together. But really, it was at the age of 8 when I asked myself for the first time… 'what is this?'. My parents and I used to travel a lot and I have so many memories of our road trips in South America. One of the most special memories I still have are those ones when I listened to my mom and my dad singing 80s songs. Being in the back seat, laying down and enjoying those beautiful melodies are the most memorable moments of my childhood. When I turned 10-years-old is when the final push came to get me into the desire of wanting to become a musician. My friends used to laugh about this, but I never cared because I was so proud of the fact that the television show, "Hannah Montana”, made me want to become a pop star. I remember seeing the show preview and thinking… 'Oh my God, this is going to be a waste of people’s time'. For destiny’s reasons, I accidentally turned the television on one day, and to my surprise, "Hannah Montana" show was on. Because I had nothing else to watch, I decided to watch it to the end, and then the magic happened. I repeated the same question I asked myself before... 'What is this?'. It literally crashed my heart like nothing else before. So I kept watching Miley Cyrus in her fictional character, and I was growing and changing with her at the same time she was evolving in music, and developing herself as a real artist. So that was the first time I’ve told myself... 'Now, you are going to get serious about this. And you won’t stop until you see yourself in the place where she is'.
You grew up in Argentina. Has the culture influenced you in your music somehow?
I started my music ambition wanting to be an American pop star. The only (but also the biggest) issue turned out to be the language. I spoke Spanish and the music I fell in love with was all in English. While I was working hard in learning not only English, but also going to singing, guitar and piano classes, I was searching to start somewhere. My hunger for music and the desire of achieving my goals, were so big to the point that I decided to move on with the idea of making pop music, to explore other styles, to listen to other genres, and to try to find something that might fit better with me. Teenage life comes in, so I started to go out with friends, I started to leave my bubble to see what the world had for me. It is there when Latin music, or I should better say Reggeaton, found me. The electric energy, the warm vibe, together with the fact that I was able to understand the lyrics, they all caught my heart, my feelings and my attention completely. So until I was able to improve my English skills, to keep going with my pop music dreams, I knew Latin music would be taking over me, and it will open the doors to the all the opportunities I got today.
You are openly gay and you have had a very supportive environment when you came out. Tell us about the role your family, friends, and community played in coming out openly gay and the role they played in finding that supportive husband whom you have been with for 4 years now?
I think my family and friends accepted and supported the fact that I came out as a gay man more than they have supported my music career. It all happened so fast, even for me. I was 18-years-old when I realized I felt attracted to other guys, and my mom was the first person to know what was going on in my mind, before anybody else. I knew from the beginning she was who would be able to answer all the questions I had about what being gay meant, and without feeling judged. I wasn’t nervous at all, but curious when I went to talk to her about it. I know so many parents have this concept based on their beliefs about what the “perfect family”, or what a “perfect child” is, and being gay is absolutely not one of them most of the time. But I also knew my mother wasn’t that type of parent. After I told her how I was feeling, my mouth literally dropped because of her response. She said... “You shouldn’t ever feel embarrassed or apologize because of your feelings. We can’t control them and if this is what you truly want for yourself, I would ask you to keep going. We don’t come to life with a manual, and that’s okay because life is about experiencing and searching for yourself”. Because my relationship with my mom is so important, I felt like if she was okay with me being gay, I had nothing to worried about.
My other family members, my friends and the rest of the world knew about my sexual orientation after I felt I had found the right person for me at the age of 21 and that’s my current husband Rodney. Our love has been always so healthy, pure and contagious that personally I never cared about what people had to say about us. And because we put that energy out there, I think it came back to us strongly. It means, when we officially decided to tell everyone, we got the full support, respect and love from all of those who have cared about us from day one. But the biggest surprise came to us when strangers started to contact us through social media and by stopping us on the streets, just to tell us that we are a beautiful couple or how much we have inspired them because of our relationship. Those instances turned out to be really encouraging for us to keep loving and taking care of our relationship even more. Because in some way we were bringing back the hope of finding true love to other people.
How has your husband supported in your career and how important has that been for you?
My husband is my number one fan. He is the one who believes in me more than anybody, even more than myself. The one who reminds me all the time how far I got and why I must not quit. He picks me up every time I'm down because things get a little hard. So many times I felt he would do or say anything just to keep me focused and motivated, because he sees the fire and desire I have inside. He is my biggest mentor, my biggest supporter, and my biggest advisor, because he always makes sure I listen to every lesson, experience and mistake he went though, so I can try to avoid them and achieve my goals faster and smarter than anyone else in my same position. Because he is really smart and good at business, and so many other things, he has opened my mind about so many factors that I had no idea before it could affect my career that much - small details that would either help or destroy everything I already achieved. So many times he gave me an advice that I hated. Sometimes it made me cry because they were things I didn't want to hear, but I know he will not stop helping me to become a better version of myself every day and that means everything to me.
What is your music like? Who are your influences and role models?
I can tell what my music is like based on what it makes me feel or how I feel about it. But I like to hear what other people have to say about what my music is like, because I do not make music just for myself. I make music so everyone can listen to it. Many people have told me my music is very charming, energetic, full of good and tropical vibes, but over all, it has made them want to dance and have fun. Those are comments I got from people all over the world who have heard my songs on the radio. It makes me happy because those types of comments and reactions are the ones I’ve been wanting and working hard for. As time goes by and I keep growing, my influences keep changing too. This happens based on my age, in what culture I’m living, they way I feel, etc. There are many factors that decide why or how I pick my influences. Today, I get inspired but a lot of different Latin and American artists who are taking over the industry. But I have more female than male artists who influence me. I am a big supporter of women because they are beautiful people with amazing talents. I come from a family where women are the majority, so I grew up loving, respecting, and learning a lot about them. Just mentioning again the fact that Miley Cyrus inspired me to start my career is a great example of what I’m talking about.
Do you want to crossover to the English market and why?
English became part of my life not only because of music, but also because of my husband. I speak English more than I do Spanish, which is why today I feel so comfortable speaking both languages. I always wanted to crossover to the English market because that is how my desire of becoming a musician started. What has caused me a really hard time was having to make the decision of which genre and which language I should choose to keep working on my craft. Many times I wake up feeling I should just make music in Spanish, but then I get up convinced about the idea that I should be writing and making music in English. So after I listened to some people’s opinions and advice, I don’t know why it took me so long to realize I could be doing both. I don’t have to get locked just on one trail forever. That is what being an artist is about - changing as your mood changes. So many artists are succeeding like crazy right now, because they know the more they are able to communicate their art to other people, the bigger the market where they can work. The only thing you have to make sure of is to try to not lose your essence, by trying to lose your native accent and features. Because that is your signature, that’s what makes you and your art unique.
Tell us about the new album "Bipolar" that you are working on. What is the album about? How different will it be than anything we have seen before?
“Bipolar" is something that I’m really excited about. First of all, it’s my first album so I have a lot of expectations from the people that I’m working with to make this project possible. My team is amazing even if most of the time I get on their nerves because I keep changing the concepts and ideas, they understand what I’m trying to do. They understand the way I work, they understand how important is what I’m trying to create and communicate. That’s basically how the name of the album was born. I am an unpredictable person who will want to sing blues today, but will want to write country music tomorrow. When I write music in one particular language, my mood changes completely and that’s really notable in the lyrics. You would think I’m possessed or something. When I write music in English, my songs are so deep, meaningful, moody, every one of them is telling a story, they are connected to each other and they also try to be really clever. It’s all about the lyrics. But when I write Latin music, I feel they are so much more simple, basic, easy to understand if you speak the language, and is more about the beats than anything. It’s a music to party. Once you listen to all the melodies and the lyrics in the album, you will understand why my team and I called it “Bipolar”.
What makes you unique as an artist and musician? What did you learn about you and your music through the years that you can share with us?
Honestly, I feel blessed, special and unique because of my whole life. My personality, my story, my family, my husband, where I’m from, where I’m right now, all of those things helps me to keep my mind clear and focus on my job as a musician, as a person, as a husband and as a friend. And let me tell you I never wished having someone else's life because of all of the things I mentioned before. My biggest fight and competition has always been with myself, and that’s the story I’m trying to show through my art and through my music. That is the way I filter my emotions to not let them take over me. We all have our own demons to fight with, we just have to learn how to make them calm down in the healthiest way possible, so we don’t negatively affect ourselves. My husband likes to remind me that at the age of 25, I’m where most people of my age would love to be in life, because sometimes I get overwhelmed by the feeling that I’m not doing enough. Through all these years, I have learned that my music will always be the big picture of all those memories I experienced the same year I released a song. It’s crazy because once I drop new music, I think to myself… ‘ okay, I’m tired of listening to the same song over and over again, because I’ve been working on this for months. Now I want to work on something new'. When that happens, I don’t appreciate my work as much because I just got tired of it, but a couple of months later, when I go back to listen to one of my old records, I think it sounds even better than the first time I released it, and it also brings all those memories of when I was working on it, when I came up with the idea for the first time, with the people I’ve been working with, who were supporting me through the whole process, and where I was at the time. It’s really beautiful how it makes me feel, and now that I look back to my first single I released almost two years ago, I get really emotional. Because 2017 was an incredible year and I’m so proud of it. The song “Vente Conmigo" is like my career’s baby.
What is your dream?
After many years searching for what I wanted to do, and who I wanted to be in the music industry, and most importantly, in life, I came to the conclusion that all I really want was to find myself in peace. I want to keep everything as real as possible. I want to give a meaning to everything. I want to remember everything. I want to do everything I do for the right reasons without forgetting why I’m doing it, and without giving most of my attention to things that shouldn't matter. One of my goals is to feel that I don’t need to be part of the superficial empty world that killed so many people’s desires to keep living and enjoying their lives. I want to keep alive the fire inside of me for as long as I can. I want that fire to be gone once I’m dead, because I don’t want to feel that I’m spiritually dead while I’m physically alive. My dream is to love what I do, whether it is music today, or raising goats on a farm tomorrow. Right now, I’m at a stage of my life where I feel I’m living the dream, I’m living my dream. I feel I’m where I am supposed to be, with the people with whom I should be sharing life, feeling jealous of no one, not competing with anybody, just getting ready for all the beautiful years full of experiences, lessons and memories that are waiting for me down the road.
What is your message to fans and others?
Be yourself! I know it can sound simple, but it really it isn’t, and I understand. I thought I got it all under control, but when I realize I was already managing my dreams and career based on other people's visions and ambitions, I immediately told myself to stop. We are living in a society where technology has taken over people, and everybody thinks we are free because they are at home sitting on the couch with their phones. But the reality is actually far from that Internet, especially social media, turned out to be an easy way for people to judge other people, and to make you feel you should live your life a certain way. Many years ago, it was easier when television was the only way you could see famous people, actors, musicians, or “influencers”, and use them as role models. It was up to you to follow them, and consider the idea of wanting to imitate their lifestyle. But today, because phones and internet devices are everywhere, you will see those people all the time. And you will try to keep up with them because the invisible social pressure. You see how everybody is trying to do and look the same. Let me tell you something, you can get completely lost by following that path. You could not only loose your mental freedom, but also yourself. It depends on you, if you work hard just to look good in pictures because that is what everybody thinks is “cool”. no matter what you do, there will be a lot of people who still hate you, and people who still think you are the ugliest person in the world. And you will be shot down because you care about them, and not about what you really feel or want. Do the things for the right reasons, and most important, stay truth to yourself. Don’t be cool, be you.
