Like Alvin and the chipmunks who sing and go out seeking music opportunities is well like Juanmanuel. Juanmanuel Cortes-Montano is an up and coming artist and accordion player in the Chicago area shows his development of the love and improvement to be here now.
Juan didn’t start like most people do, he started differently. He said, “I actually started learning on an app. I had my little Google Pixel 6 or 8, and I downloaded this accordion app called Mezquite. I was just playing around with it and watching tutorials, and somehow, I started getting pretty decent. My grandpa noticed that I seemed to have a natural talent for it, and for my 10th or 11th birthday, he got me a real accordion.” But that dedication to start doesn’t come randomly, it comes with an event that gives you the motivation to start, Juan stated that, “Well, this was back when I was little. I grew up surrounded by live music especially. I was always watching people on stage, seeing how everyone got so hyped when they played. I really wanted to be one of those people up there, the ones who perform and get all the attention. I used to imagine myself on stage, picturing what it would feel like, and that’s when I started wanting to get into music.”
The hard work and motivation brings us to the present times, and to what Juan is doing now He states that “I play with a grupo named ”Los Originales de Chicago”” He now shares his feelings about the connection, ‘I mean, I feel great with them, you know, they’re musicians too. They, they, they had the same struggles of learning an instrument and everything like that, um, and then with the parties also, it was very fun seeing people smile and everything like that, enjoying their time.” With the grupo it gives recognition and future success but he is already making a name for himself he shared this, “There’s actually a really big group chat in Chicago for like all the local groups that have a decent following are in it. Angel R is in that group chat too, and he actually started talking about me in there and sharing my videos. Since I was getting pretty decent at playing, some of those established groups started reaching out to me. It felt crazy — like, I was finally getting attention from the “big dogs.” That’s when I started realizing that maybe I could really make something happen with these people, and how big of an opportunity this could be for me, especially at my age.”
Even with recognition in this industry there will be downfall. Juan talks about one here, “My manager talks a lot about what’s “good for us” and tries to keep us “motivated”,and it doesn’t really help. At one point, I actually felt targeted. She told me that some people were saying I should be kicked out of the group because I wasn’t performing well enough. She said that after our gigs, clients were supposedly complaining that the accordion player, which is me, wasn’t doing things right or was underperforming, even talking to other musicians instead of focusing. But honestly, half of that wasn’t true. We ended up having a big argument about it. I told her straight up, “If you don’t want me in the group, that’s fine — I can leave.” I already had other groups interested in me, offering around $150 a gig, so I knew I’d be okay. At that point, I had started to realize my own value.” As he continues to strive for his dreams and to create success, he is making music, Juan says “Keep looking forward to next year. Probably gonna pop out next year, right next to Angel R. And for right now, I’m writing songs. Right now. I actually have a song recorded with Angel R, and he was a singer on the song, and maybe in the future we will release it, we already recorded it, but yeah”.
Even with the ups and downs, we should get our autographs now before he is on the stage in front of millions to see. Remember the name Juanmanuel Cortes-Montano.
