He was born in Asunción

Asunción

Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 on March 27, 1950. Son of Carmen Emategui and Rodolfo Barreto.

Beginnings

His first experiences playing the guitar, he gave them when his father, gave him a small guitar (requinto) at the age of 13; since then he never stopped playing that beautiful instrument.

At the age of 12, he met Efrén Echeverría

Efrén Echeverría

'Efren Echeverria is a musician guitarist, composer, and compiler Paraguay.-Self-taught of remarkable style :Efren Echeverria, artistically nicknamed "Kamba'i", is one of the most popular performers and creators of the guitar in Paraguay....

, who without knowing would mark his style in this prodigious child. This is a fond memory Juan Cancio keeps with gratitude.

Career

Year	Outstanding event
1968	Gold Medal for “Best Requinto” with the Trío Esmeralda, in the Comuneros Stadium.
1969	“Revelation Artist” in the Caravana Show, Chanel 9. The same year, he integrates the cast of the Artistic Department of the National Defense Ministry, a department that was place for the surge of great artistic values.
Decade of 1970	“Nights of folklore” in Guarida del Matrero, along with other important musicians, such as Maneco Galeano, the brothers Carlos and Jorge (Necho) Pettengil, Enrique (Gua’i) Torales, Viquito Benítez, Santi Medina , Oscar Gómez, Graciela Abbate, Marcos Brizuela, Maria Cristina Gómez Rabito, Carlos Noguera y many others.
Decade of 1970	He forms a duet with Marcos Brizuela, he establishes himself finally with his beloved instrument and wins several awards.
1983	“Revelation Artist” of the Lago Ypacarai Festival Ypacaraí Festival The Ypacaraí Festival has been held in the city of Ypacaraí, Paraguay, since 1971, between August and September. It is a folklore festival organized with great emphasis on all kinds of cultural manifestations.... .
1976	Winner of the trophy “Guitarra de Oro” (Gold Guitar), the most appreciated award by the great musicians.
1977	He gets in the delegation of the festival of Lago Ypacaraí Ypacaraí Lake Ypacaraí Lake is a major waterbody located in Paraguay about 25 km east of Asunción. The lake lies in the western part of the Asunción-Sapucai-Villarrica graben, a tectonic depression of Mesozoic age, and drains to the northwest trough Salado River into Paraguay River... , and participates in the Festival of Cosquín Cosquin Cosquin may refer toa place* Cosquín, Córdoba, a small town in Argentinaa surname* Emmanuel Cosquin , French folklorist.... , Córdoba Córdoba Province (Argentina) Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca... , Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... . There, he wins the trophy “Carmín Cosquín”, award that he won one more time in 1979.
1978	In the Latin American Festival of Punta del Este Punta del Este Punta del Este is a resort town on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. It is located on the intersection of Route 10 with Route 39, directly southeast of the department capital Maldonado and about east of Montevideo... , Arenas Arenas Arenas may refer to:-Persons:*Abbygale Arenas , Filipina beauty queen*Braulio Arenas, Chilean poet and writer*Eddie Arenas , Filipino actor... , Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...  he wins the “Ñandú de Oro”.
1980	He records several scores with the group Los Indianos.
Decade of 1980	His son Juan Angel starts to accompany him in the guitar; they share very good artistic moments. Together they have many successes and receive the “Gold Medal to Success and Popularity” in the Festival of the Race in the city of Villarica Villarrica, Paraguay Villarrica is a city located in the middle of the Oriental Region of the Paraguayan territory, is capital of the Guairá Department. It was founded by the Spanish Captain Ruy Diaz de Melgarejo on May 14, 1570 in the old Guaira, today in Brazilian territory.... .
1997 and forward	He starts the series of concerts “Guitarra adentro” with Berta Rojas, in Asunción and they travel to several cities of Paraguay. The idea of joining the music of the popular guitar with the classical guitar was what made them want to work together.
2004	He receives a platinum disc from the record company BlueCaps for the album “Vya’y yave”, which became the best seller album of the last decade.

Other activities

Juan Cancio Barreto shared and received the example of some great talented Paraguayan musicians such as: Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo

Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo

Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo was the main reference of the so called “golden generation” of the Paraguayan popular music and a strict studious of the Paraguayan folk music.-Biography:...

, Eladio Martínez

Eladio Martínez

Eladio Martínez was born in Paraguarí, Paraguay, on May 19, 1912, son of Lorenzo Martínez and Nicolasa Benítez. He belonged to a family of musicians...

, Diosnel Chase, Emilio Vaesken, Edmigio Ayala Báez, Samuel Aguayo, Agustín Barboza

Agustín Barboza

Agustín Pío Barboza was a Paraguayan singer and composer.-Childhood and youth:Barboza was born in Asunción, Paraguay. In his adolescence , he went to Buenos Aires to work as a seaman aboard the Mixu, a ship flying the Argentine flag. Alternating his work of seaman with musical activities, he met...

, Luis Alberto del Paraná

Luis Alberto del Paraná

Luis Alberto del Paraná was a Paraguayan singer and guitarist. During the fifties, sixties and early seventies, he traveled extensively around the globe with his group Los Paraguayos, popularizing Paraguayan music. He is the best-selling Paraguayan musician ever.-Family and early life:He was born...

and Faustino Brizuela.

During his frequent tours, he has conquered audiences in Paraguay and other countries. And nowadays he continues to travel to the interior of the country, to Argentina, Brazil and Chile, where he still receives awards and acknowledgments for his performances.