Musician and cultural manager. He was born in the Pastaitarra district of Trintxerpe (Gipuzkoa) on 30 March 1950.
He began his musical studies of the accordion under the guidance of Pepe Andoain at a very early age, having to move to San Sebastian as there was no academy or private lessons in the area. He learned to play the atabal, which enabled him to perform in many countries accompanying Basque dance groups (Gaztexo and Itsaso Alde from Trintxerpe, Oinkari from Donostia, Etorki from Biarritz, performances in Paris, Cyprus and some other international tours, Xelistarra from San Juan de Luz with which they performed at the Mediterranean Games in Algiers in 1975, among others).
He also participated in the Antxotarra fanfare Polito y sus discos vivientes and was a founder in 1970 and a member of the fanfare Gaupasa de Trintxerpe until 1972, when it disappeared due to the censorship of the time.
In 1964, at the same time as he began his working life, he started to give music classes in the district of Trintxerpe but these did not take off because people were keen to start but little by little they disappeared for different reasons (work, difficulty of the studio, etc.). He worked in the company Lasa Hermanos, occupying different positions until he became the company's personnel manager for 14 years until it closed in 1992.
1972 was a decisive year in his life. He joined the Easo Choir in San Sebastian as a chorister and at the same time, with the help of some members of the Gaupasa fanfare, he founded the Illumbe Musical Association.
This association started its activity in a place given by the company where he worked and the following year, after signing an agreement with the Town Council of Pasaia, it moved to the Trintxer building, where it still has its headquarters.
The Illumbe Musical Association started its activity with 92 students and only one teacher; the classes were free of charge and nobody was paid for them, and the expenses were covered by organising txabol-sotoak and bars during festivals.
The first instruments taught were the txistu, accordion, guitar and piano. Gradually, these were joined by the instruments of a brass band, which had to be financed originally by personal loans. These instruments were left to the most advanced students and in this way what is today the Illumbe Music Band was created in 1978 under the direction of José Luis Ocón Antero.
In 1989, in a very similar way, the symphonic orchestra was formed, buying a batch of violins, violas, violoncellos and double basses.
In 1990, the Public Music Foundation of Pasaia ‘Pasaia Musikal’ was created as a result of the union of the musical associations of Pasaia to meet the great musical demand and Juan Jesús Neira became its director-manager until 2014, the date of his official retirement. He was also co-founder and vice-president of the Association of Music Schools of Gipuzkoa 1987 and 1990 of the Association of Music Schools of the Basque Country with the position of treasurer from 1995 to 2005.
During all these years the Illumbe Music Association has continued with its parallel activity and apart from organising a multitude of activities in the district throughout the year (Epiphany parade, Santa Agueda choirs, Caldereros, carnivals, patron saint festivals, Olentzero, it has been able to celebrate its great anniversaries in a very special way. Thus, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, the first carnivals of Trintxerpe were organised, which are always held a week later than the official ones (carnival of piñata).
On its 25th anniversary, apart from organising all kinds of concerts, talks and exhibitions during the 12 months, it embarked on the organisation of the first Musikaldi (festival of the Music Schools of the Basque Country). On this important date, Paco Rabanne, a resident of Trintxerpe, was contacted and brought to his home town, naming him honorary president of the organising committee for the 25th anniversary events. After this visit, a relationship was forged with the couturier that made it possible for him to collaborate in the chamber opera that was created to celebrate the 30th anniversary. This opera could not be premiered in Trintxerpe due to the lack of a suitable space and was premiered in Barañain (Navarra). The chamber opera El Acomodador, was composed by the composer Javier Jacinto, the libretto and stage direction was by Enrique Santiago, the costume design was by Paco Rabanne, all of them pasaitarras, and the set design was by the Murcian painter and sculptor Angel Haro.
On the 35th anniversary, the musical ‘Mariren Labirintoa’ by the composer Iñigo Peña and stage direction by Enrique Santiago was co-produced with other music schools in Gipuzkoa. Likewise, this year, the ‘Trintxerpe Musikaz Blai’ conference begins to be held in June, coinciding with the end of the school year, bringing all kinds of musical groups and Basque dances to the streets.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, a cycle of chamber music is organised in collaboration with Musikene (Higher Music Centre of the Basque Country) with the participation of outstanding ensembles and soloists from the last years of the school year.
In 2022, the 50th anniversary is celebrated with a multitude of events that will remain in the memory of many (singing week, trikitixa eguna, gipuzkoa dantzan, choral week, piano week, recitals by passitar groups, txistularis , etc.) with the celebration of the second Musikaldi, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, standing out. This festival brought together 2,467 musicians from 47 different schools in a day of music made up of large groups that performed in the Trintxerpe and San Pedro districts. Also in 2022, the Pasaitarra artist Nextor Otaño was commissioned to create a graffiti allegorical of the music and fishing so present in the lives of the residents of Trintxerpe, which is currently competing to be the best of 2022 worldwide, and is already one of the hundred best in the world.
It is worth mentioning the prize he received in 1996 from the Red Cross in the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, an award for his work in the cultural area (as a guarantee of an exemplary and continuous trajectory in favour of the teaching of music in Pasaia). Likewise, in 1997, he received the gold insignia of the City Council of Pasaia on the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Illumbe Musical Association. The Easo Choir also awarded him the silver medal for 25 years of singing in it. Not discarding any challenge, he was also one of the architects of the Trintxerpe Rowing Club, which has been running for more than 25 years.
The Easo Choir, his other passion. He joined as a choir member in 1972 and during all these years he has been an active part of this family, as a choir member for more than forty years, many of them on the board of directors and since 2018 as its president. In 2000 he also founded the Easo Music School and is the coordinator of the Easo Choir's Veterans Choir.
Paco Rabanne and Trintxerpe are his unfinished business. Since 1996, when the brilliant couturier was brought to his village, they have maintained a relationship that has lasted over time and he is currently the President of the Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo Fundazioa Foundation, which aims to pay homage to the brilliant artist in his village of origin and also to provide Trintxerpe with a socio-cultural infrastructure to boost the surrounding area.