Juan Carlos Zeta

Juan Carlos Zeta grew up in Chile. When he was 13, Juan Carlos moved to Switzerland with his family – the home of his ancestors on his father’s side. Thanks to the music culture in his parent’s home, he stayed connected to his Latin American roots, although it wasn’t just the bolero, cumbia, samba and bossa nova from his old homeland that he loved, but he was also influenced by seventies rock, black music and heavy metal. After having mastered a couple of Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix riffs on his electric guitar, he knew that he wanted to be a musician. And he proved he’d made the right choice when he and his three colleagues made it onto the Radio DRS 3 playlist with their alternative rock band ‘Last Pride’ in 1991.

In his solo career, though, Juan Carlos Zeta didn’t follow this musical style, but rather focused on the Latin Rock genre: The singer/songwriter took singing and guitar lessons in Cuba and Brazil, studied at the Jazz School Zurich/Switzerland, and started writing the lyrics for his compositions in Spanish. Today Juan Carlos Zeta performs both as a solo artist and in various separate, modular formations: Depending on the occasion, he performs acoustically in the Juan Carlos Zeta Duo or Trio or electrically as the Juan Carlos Zeta Group, supported by Matthias Spitz (drums), Roland Wäger (percussion), and Jorge Torres (acoustic & electric bass).

His dual heritage is reflected in all his compositions: On a musical level in the combination of Rock and Latin American instrumentation and on a lyrical level through the use of Spanish and the struggle with the here and there. His yearning for his lost home cements itself in seemingly insignificant everyday occurrences – it’s all about passion and coldness, roots and rootlessness, and the difference in expressing emotions. But difficulties must be confronted with hope, and Juan Carlos Zeta tries to do this –with rhythm, corazón and dedication.

Music genre: Latin Rock/Pop