Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo
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Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo (born October 17, 1981 in Managua)[1] is a Nicaraguan businessman and rock musician, son of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. He is the owner of the state advertising agency Difuso Comunicaciones, two radio stations (Radio 1 and Rock FM) and two television channels (TN8 and La Rock 22).
Juan Carlos Ortega was born to the presidential couple on October 17, 1981. In his childhood, he had problems speaking, which caused him to receive help from a specialist. He was raised by Alicia Romero, alongside some of his brothers and sisters (Daniel Edmundo, Laureano y Carlos Enrique) because his parents were occupied with their political life. He followed some of his father's visits to the United States to take part in UN general assemblies. Since his childhood, he had had a strong ideological connection to the FSLN, unlike the rest of the Ortega-Murillo children, to an extent that the whole family believed that the defeat of the party in the 1990 elections was a "war". After this, Rosario Murillo started raising Juan Carlos again and ordered him to build a music studio at home, which offered piano, guitar and drum classes, among other instruments.[1]
At the end of his baccalaurate, Rosario Murillo gave him the chance to study at the Media course at the Central American University of Managua, being the tutor of his thesis. He had a relatively normal lifestyle in his university years, dedicated to studies, music and parties, but without excesses.[1] In a 2007 profile given to La Prensa, he was considered to be "the successor of Sandino".[2]
He was involved in the production of Drunk Wedding, partly financed by INTUR, since 2011, as a cameraman. INTUR spent US$400,000 in its production as a means to boost tourism to Nicaragua. The promotion of the movie by the Sandinist government did not coincide with how Paramount promoted it, and the release did not match the expectations.[3]
The US Department of Treasury sanctioned Juan Carlos Ortega on July 17, 2020.[4]
Musical career
Juan Carlos Ortega founded Nicaraguan rock band Ciclo in the 1990s. The band performed in bars in Managua and in other departments. In his gatherings with band members, there were no political references, only discussions about their favorite bands.[1]