Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Aro.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Born in Queens, New York to Panamanian and Colombian parents, Jon Aro invokes influences from his background to craft his work. Jon Aro moved a lot as a child when he was three, he moved from New York to Panama to study until he was eight and moved back to the States. He sang all his life since he was five and would emulate artist voices such as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce. Jon Aro is an alternative R&B singer/songwriter who fuses an eclectic mix of electronic, dark pop, jazz, and neo-soul to his sound. His musical influences are of James Blake, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean Kelela, El Guincho, and Beyonce. Jon Aro loves to surround himself with all forms of musical styles, from doing musicals in his early years to classical music in FAU Honor Choir and All State Choir while in high school to learning the ingredients of jazz and scatting. The Miami-based singer and songwriter found his expressive soul amidst the abundant and creative community of South Florida. Once out of high school, he immediately began to record tracks he wrote in his bedroom on ableton and taught himself how to engineer and produce his sound. He later independently released his first track “Ultraviolet” in August 2018 on all streaming services. Later on, he would perform at local shows in Boca and Miami such as III Points, The Standard, Gramps, etc. His sultry voice and enticing lyricism combined with velvety harmonies create a euphoric ambiance that can’t be contained.
Has it been a smooth road?
It was the beginning of 2018 when my right lung had collapsed while I was singing at a karaoke bar with a few friends. I had to get surgery called a thoracotomy, a procedure used to treat lung cancer, for what was later declared as a spontaneous Pneumothorax (the spontaneous collapse of the lung with no exact explanation). I was left in the hospital for the whole month of February. I had to drop out of my classes and had to stop singing. I thought my musical career was coming to a close. Recovery left me with the trauma of 1,000 wars and anxiety that only therapy could treat. After that incident, I was told that I would be able to sing again in due time which then gave me the roaring drive to make music shamelessly. later on that year my mother was detained for a month and almost deported due to the government’s mistake of thinking she was an illegal immigrant. Everything quickly started caving in on me. I had gotten a three day eviction notice a week after her incarceration and I had. Growing up with a single parent made me realize the resilience my mother had to express under such adversity. My father had left my mother and her three year old son stranded with little to no financial support in the vicious city of New York. He would later spew to courthouses and child support offices that I was not his son. I grew up with a father who denied my existence and a mother who would only live for it. Frantically moving from place to place seemed like the norm. We finally settled in Florida in 2012 after years of living nomadically.
To quickly move out. I was homeless. Luckily a friend reached out and allowed me to stay at her place while I investigated my mother’s case and gathered up lawyers that were able to get her out. We started the cycle of moving once more from my friend’s house, to a temporary apartment, to my mother’s friends house to later land in Miami. We have been living here since. If it were not for my downhill battles, I don’t believe I would be the robust and sagacious individual I am today. It had opened my eyes to such gracious moments we have to cherish and remember that we should live life unapologetically and with no remorse.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a music artist that wants to spread inclusivity and power with my sound. I want everyone to feel my story with my music. I am proud of how far I have gone through the span of a year living here. The people I have met in Miami have made this beautiful city a place to behold.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Miami is a fast paced city. A real melting pot of America in my experience. In every corner, there is an explosion of culture that you can immerse yourself in and educate yourself on. There is an immense amount of amazing eclectic creatives and artists that you wouldn’t find anywhere else (besides New York). I believe that in Miami there is so much to embrace from the different corners and use it as a means of inspiration creatively. I believe that if someone was starting here, to first explore and see where you feel most comfortable in. Miami is still rapidly growing and If you can’t find something today, you can definitely find it tomorrow.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 9545898478
- Email: jonaromusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/thejonaro
- Twitter: twitter.com/thejonaro
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