Translated from the original Spanish article. Read in Spanish
News published on October 29, 2026. The situation may have changed since then.
Argentine singer and songwriter Juan Marcelo has died at the age of 82. The news broke on Thursday, October 29, 2026.
The Argentine Actors' Association confirmed it with a farewell message. The cause of death has not been reported.
Who he was
His real name was Enrique Raúl de Jesús. He was born in 1944 in San Martín, Buenos Aires province.
In the early 1970s he formed the duo Juan y Juan with Juan Eduardo Carballo. They met in Mar del Plata and started out singing on the Atlantic coast, until producer Ricardo Kleinman brought them into the studio.
His songs
Juan y Juan filled the radio waves with cheerful songs such as Balada para un gordo, Bailando en una pata and Hay que alegrar el corazón.
In New York they won recognition with Ahora que soy libre, a song later recorded by British singer Engelbert Humperdinck.
Juan Marcelo did not just sing in the telenovela Amo y señor: he also acted in it, playing Adrián.
The music of the telenovelas
Juan Marcelo wrote music for very famous telenovelas in Argentina. The best remembered is Rolando Rivas, taxista, with Yo te quiero, nos queremos.
He also composed for El infiel, Mi hombre sin noche, Dos a quererse and Piel naranja. And he acted in films such as El profesor patagónico and Cosa de locos.
His partner's farewell
Juan Eduardo Carballo said goodbye on social media with a very moving text. He recalled the trips they took together around half the world and said nothing will be the same without him.
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What is your favorite Juan y Juan song, or your favorite song from 1970s telenovelas?
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Sources (in Spanish)
- La muerte, la biografía y las canciones: Infobae (29 de octubre de 2026).
- La edad, la confirmación y las telenovelas: El Destape (29 de octubre de 2026).
- Mar del Plata y el festival de Nueva York: Crónica (29 de octubre de 2026).
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses; the author and license are shown under each image.
