Juan Carlos Rivero, who was musical director, keyboardist, composer and arranger of the well-known group Moncada for more than two decades, decided to settle in Miami.
Rivero, 55, already visited the United States in 2015, but now aims to continue his career in Miami, where he has received the support of several colleagues who accompany him in his projects, a person close to him told the independent portal CubaNet.
The renowned musician joined the Moncada group in 1995, which emerged in the 1970s within the Nueva Trova movement and was known for its support of the Cuban government. Its director, Jorge Gómez, is the nephew of Raúl Gómez García, the poet of the Centennial Generation who died in the attack on the Moncada barracks on July 26, 1953.
The group's loyalty to the regime was rewarded with numerous trips to countries in America, Europe and Asia, as well as to top sporting events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Pan American Games in Winnipeg 1999 and Santo Domingo 2003.
Before joining Moncada in 1995, Juan Carlos spent two years in the Cuban rock group Monte de Espuma and was also keyboardist and musical director for singer-songwriter Amaury Pérez Vidal for three years.
As the author of around 150 songs, he has set music to and orchestrated documentaries, series and films and has also hosted music programs for television.
According to the CubaNet report, he has recently devoted himself to various solo projects, among which one stands out with the young singer, violinist and keyboardist Alaina, with whom he carried out his work independently.
In 2019, he stated in an interview for CiberCuba that the Reggaeton as a genre does no harm, and it is the mainstream media that insists on prioritizing it above the rest.
“Today's youth don't know Benny, Pérez Prado and Enrique Jorrín. This is unprecedented! I recently asked a 20-year-old who was talking about love songs and I quoted Te amaré by Silvio Rodríguez and he asked me, 'And who is that?' If I talk to him about Bad Bunny, he'll definitely know,” he complained at the time.