Growing up in a large city in Ecuador, Juan Matamoros, was surrounded by music. His father’s side of the family is very musical, so it was natural for Juan to pick up a guitar at age twelve as his interest in music began. He started playing in bars and restaurants when he was fifteen and has loved entertaining crowds ever since.
After graduating from high school in Jupiter, Florida, Juan went to Florida Atlantic University to study music as a voice student. Then he began working on cruise ships as a solo acoustic musician. He entertained passengers with his music and met his wife on a cruise ship along the way. It was his wife who thought of “The Juan and Only” as his stage name. “I was playing around with different names and wanted something people would easily remember. We also thought about ‘Juan in a Million’ or ‘Juan More Song’ and others, but this one stuck,” Juan said.
Juan and his wife moved inland to Memphis, then Orlando, before joining Juan’s family in Iowa in 2016. Juan’s day job is in insurance, and he is a part-time musician singing a wide range of songs while playing his guitar and keyboard. His father, Wilfrido (known as “Papi” onstage), often plays drums, percussion, and guitar alongside his son. Juan’s memories of music began when he was a young child. “My grandma always had instruments around her house, and at parties, there would be people always singing and playing different instruments,” Juan recalled.
The son and father duo have been playing together consistently since 2022. They play a diverse range of music, from classics and popular songs to well-known Spanish tunes. “La Bamba: and “Despacito” are crowd favorites. Juan doesn’t have a favorite musical genre and likes all of them. He explained:
On the cruise ships, I learned a lot of different music and tend to tailor the songs I play to the crowd and what they’re requesting. It’s hard to pick a favorite, there’s just good music in all genres, and I like to mix and match. If mashups were a genre, I love doing that and taking two or more songs and mixing them together live using my loop pedal.
The Juan and Only plays locally around the Des Moines area, including farmers’ markets, private events such as weddings and parties, corporate events, the bar and restaurant scene, and at church. His busy schedule also includes regular monthly times at four local restaurants. He’s not opposed to a bit of traveling and hopes to land a gig playing at the Downtown Des Moines Farmer’s Market and the Iowa State Fair.
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The Juan and Only performing at the Jamie Hurd Amphitheater in West Des Moines, Summer Sundays series in August Video by Jane Nguyen
Thank you for this wonderful feature!