He was born in Torroella de Montgrí, Girona, Spain on March 3, 1911. He and his family immigrated to Buenos Aires in 1913 and moved in with his mother’s relatives when they arrived. His father moved back to Spain, and Juan Miguel never heard from him again. He attended a technical high school.
As a youth, he worked in a engraving workshop with his uncle, José Planas Casas, and Pompeyo Audivert. During these years, he came into contact with Zen philosophy through a teacher whose identity the artist would never reveal, though he had a profound influence on his life and work.