| Jean Carlo Centeno | |
| Alias: | El casi loco |
| Birth Date: | November 11, 1976 |
| Origin: | Cabimas, Zulia Venezuela |
| Occupation: | Singing (tenor) |
| Genre: | Vallenato, Latin |
| Years Active: | 1993 - Present |
| Label: | Sony Music |
| Associated Acts: | Binomio de Oro de America |
| Website: | www.jeancarloscenteno.com/ |
Jean Carlos Jiménez Centeno (born November 11 in Cabimas, Zulia) is a Colombian-Venezuelan singer and composer of vallenato, bolero and salsa. Centeno gained fame as singer and composer for the vallenato group Binomio de Oro de America. On December 31, 2005 Centeno left the Binomio de Oro to pursue his own vallenato group along accordionist Juan Fernando "Morre" Romero. In 2006 Centeno and Romero released the album Ave Libre.
Centeno's parents are Ebel Jiménez and Miryan Centeno whom as a child, at only 3 months old of age, took him to Villanueva, La Guajira, in Colombia and left him with María Elena Jiménez due to financial hardships. Centeno's grandfather Reynaldo was a musician, played the trumpet and the drums. At the age of 14 years financial hardships forced him to work on the streets selling snacks, worked as a farm boy and took care of kids to survive. He traveled around town in the Department of La Guajira also singing at parties. He dreamed of becoming a ballads singer or soap opera actor.[1]
In 1992 participated along Poncho Cotes Jr in a song contest in the Colombian town of San Juan del Cesar, in La Guajira.[2] The song "Un ángel mas en el cielo" of his authorship was a dedication to his role model singer Rafael Orozco Maestre, then recently deceased, and lead singer of the Binomio de Oro de America vallenato group.[3]
Israel Romero the accordionist from the Binomio de Oro de America became interested on Centeno's talent and hired him as backup singer for the group.[4] Centeno sang the group hits "No te vayas", "Celos", "Manantial de amor", among others and also got to be recorded by the Binomio de Oro; "Volvió el dolor", "Me ilusioné", "Amigo el corazón" and "Me vas a extrañar".[5]
On December 31, 2005 Centeno decided to leave Binomio de Oro and joined initially accordionist Robert Urbina, but later teamed up with Israel Romero's nephew, Juan Fernando "El Morre" Romero to create their own vallenato group.[6]