Meet Juan Manuel Fernandez | Artist entrepreneur in search of transcending centralized platforms.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Juan Manuel Fernandez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Juan Manuel, how do you think about risk?
Gotta risk it to get the biscuit.

As artists we are catalysts of human experiences. It’s our JOB to go “out there”… Beyond where most people are ok with going. When I started to get into crypto I was overwhelmed with a sea of negative opinions… Sometimes things aren’t gonna pan out and that’s ok, the best thing you can do in that situation is to try to learn from the experience. Turns out NFTs are the coolest thing to happen to art and music (IMHO). It’s been a total paradigm shift from working towards millions of streams, towards NFT sales. IDK It’s also a matter of fun. I have more fun going as far off as I can from the beaten path.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a rock musician but I swear i’m not a meme. I started playing punk in Venezuela and had a pretty good run. With Retrovyzor, my first band, I managed to tour my country and the better part of my continent. In 2017 i started in Berklee and that REALLY expanded my horizons. The definitions of words like “Good” , “difficult” and “cold” were changed forever in Boston. I started touring with Mexican artists I met in school and more and more i harbored the feeling of “anything is possible here”. In contrast to my experience growing up in Caracas, my countries’ capital. My studies in Jazz mutated the architecture of my sound by incorporating Bill Evan’s chord progressions into my sound. It got to a point where I realized I became a different person than my punk roots, I wanted to go beyond whats expected in “the band” sound, so I decided to go solo as YO LAGARTO. Now I make up my own rules and through NFTs I’m pioneering what it means to be an independent artist.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Miami is popping, baby…

Wake up and have traditional Venezuelan Breakfast at Friend’s in Brickell

Spend the day chillin in Key Biscayne by the Beach

Grab a shower and grab a drink and something to eat around Miami beach.

Then bounce around the scene at Wynwood until the sun rises.

Rinse and repeat.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Enrique Gonzalez Muller

My producer and Mixing engineer. Beyond pushing my art to new sonic limits, he’s shown me new ways to live and to find happiness within.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yo_lagarto/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yo_Lagarto

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/yo_lagarto

Other: Check out my NFT collection @ OpenSea https://opensea.io/collection/lagartopunks The LAGARTOPUNKS are my first series of collectibles. Each one accompanies the release of my songs and has 1000 copies with exclusive unlockable content (Instrumental versions, HD music & video, Artwork and other rarities) . Once all copies are distributed, the music video will be taken off centralized streaming platforms and will become exclusive to NFT holders.