MI SUCCESS STORY: JUAN DIEGO ARTEAGA CASTRO

Juan Arteaga is Colombian-born producer and musician, who plays the guitar, alto sax, Puerto Rican cuatro, along with voice. From a young age, Juan developed an intense love and taste for music, which eventually led him to moving to L.A. Since his arrival to Los Angeles and Musicians Institute, he has worked on diverse music projects ranging from Latin Jazz to R&B and Hip-Hop. Juan graduated with an B.A. in Guitar Performance and minor in Audio Engineering, and as a producer, he has worked with artists such as JP Acosta, Jonny Salazar, Dary Ramirez, Coco Jones and Jackie Apostelle.

This year already promises to be one of his biggest yet. After graduation, Juan scored a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a studio assistant to MI alum Andres Torres, who gained acclaim as the producer of record-breaking Latin single, “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi. Learning of the internship through MI’s Career Services, Juan will assist with recording, which can eventually lead to higher profiles gigs through connections in the Latin music world. Juan said,

The most important thing I think I learned from MI was how to interact with other musicians and people in the industry [and] the importance of networking and being as professional as possible.