Juan Luis de Bethencourt Duque is an athlete for the UTRGV Golf Team who is pursuing a degree in civil engineering. Duque graduated from IES Ortega Y Gasset High School in Madrid. He has been living in the Rio Grande Valley since Fall 2022.
Q: What do you do for fun outside of golf?
A: “I like to hang out with my friends doing plans that keep me busy. I also like going to the gym a lot, playing different sports and, basically, doing any kind of activity with friends.”
Q: What do you like about the Rio Grande Valley?
A: “I really like that people are so friendly and you can get to know a lot of people. The culture is pretty similar, I would say, compared to Spain. We have the same language and everything. I think that’s why I feel more at home than I would feel if I was in another part of the U.S. I moved [to the RGV], I think it was 2022. I think … the first time I came to the U.S. was to the Valley.”
Q: What kind of music do you like?
A: “It depends on the moment, but I listen a lot to Spanish music like Bad Bunny and these kinds of music, like reggaeton. I also like rock. I also like Mexican music, it depends on which moment I’m listening to. But yeah, I would say reggaeton is my favorite. Song on repeat, I do have ‘Monaco’ by Bad Bunny. I would say that is the most-repeated song right now.”
Q: What movies or shows do you like?
A: “I’m more of a show guy. … My favorite show is ‘Peaky Blinders.’ I’ve watched it like three times, two in Spanish and one in English. I’m more of a show guy, but if I had to watch a film, it’s not that much about the film but about the plan on going to the cinema with my friends. … I really like documentaries, especially sports documentaries. There’s a new one about [David] Beckham that is pretty good. And then, if it’s a fiction show, I really like ‘Vikings,’ ‘Breaking Bad’ and these types of shows.”
Q: Who is one of your role models?
A: “My first role model would be my father because he is a really [hard-working] person and everything I know and I do comes from him and what he taught me. So, I would say my father is my first role model. He is also a civil engineer, so that’s also one of the most important aspects of why I chose civil engineering.”
Q: What motivates you?
A: “I would say, of course, everyone that I have around. They are a key for my motivation. Also, being thankful for all the opportunities I have and grateful for that. Knowing that I’m a lucky person and I need to take advantage of the opportunities I have. And also, I have goals; I have things that I want to accomplish in my life as an athlete and as a student.”
Q: Would you want to keep playing or do something with your degree?
A: “As of right now, I want to keep a good performance in both academics and athletics. Once I graduate, I’m not sure what I’m going to end up [doing for a living]. What I’m sure about is it doesn’t have to be one or the other because golf has given me a lot of opportunities as well. So, maybe if I choose golf, I can still do some small projects or something with my dad. If I choose civil engineering, I can still be attached to golf because there are civil engineers that work on golf courses and that could be an option as well. I’m not decided at the moment, but I know I want to do, like, a mix of both.”
Q: Do you have a fun fact about yourself?
A: “I love food, especially meat, like steak or something like that. I like to grill back home. On Sundays, we normally do, like, grilling with my family and friends. I’m not the best griller, but I really like the plans, so I help as much as I can.”
Q: What are some of your personal goals?
A: “Within golf, I’ve accomplished quite [a few] of them since I arrived here. When I arrived here, it was more of like making the team and going to the tournaments. I would say [for] golf is [to] keep enjoying it because now it’s getting more difficult and I have less time to practice and more time to study. So, as long as I can keep enjoying it and find a way to keep making me happy, I would say that is my biggest goal.”
–Compiled by Jose Medina
