Juan Gabriel, a larger-than-life entertainer and one of the greatest Mexican songwriters ever, dies at 66 in his California home.
Mexican superstar Juan Gabriel, who died Sunday morning at age 66, was a lot of things: a popular singer, a larger-thanlife entertainer and a flamboyant showman who maintained an enigmatic image offstage.
But first and foremost, the man was one of the greatest songwriters Mexico ever produced, crafting a long string of sentimental ballads and bouncy, uptempo numbers that are instantly familiar to fans of Latin music. “No Tengo Dinero,” “Hast Que Te Conoci” and “Mañana, Mañana” are among his best-known tunes, familiar to both fans of pop music and traditional-flavored mariachi songs.
His greatest composition, “Amor Eterno,” is a heartbreaker about the loss of a mother. It has become a standard that is often played graveside at funerals.
“I’m living in dark loneliness/The same loneliness as your tomb” goes one of the poignant verses. The song, widely popularized by Rocio Durcal, best exemplifies his gift of tying poetic, hearttugging imagery to memorable, stick-in-yourbrain melodies.
With his penchant for both hard-core emotion and drama in his compositions, Juan Gabriel, whose legal name was Alberto Aguilera Valadez, emerged as a favorite of Latin-music divas like Durcal, Manoella Torres, Monna Bell, Angelica Maria and EstelaNúñez. The dramatic flamboyance that was found in his material was reflected in his concert appearances, which were lengthy spectacles with the star in sequined suits and full of sweepingly dramatic gestures.
The singer died peacefully at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at his California residence, his spokesman announced to the Associated Press. No further details were immediately given.
Mexico’s Secretary of Culture Rafael Tovar y de Teresa said the doors to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the country’s premier performance venue, would open its doors to honor and pay homage to “one of Mexico’s greatest singer-songwriters.”
“President Enrique Pena Nieto instructed me to make available the Palacio de Bellas Artes, where we have bid farewell to the greatest artists, like Maria Feliz, Cantinflas, Tamayo and many other distinguished Mexicans … But it will be up to his family to decide,” Tovar y de Teresa said.
The performer was coy about his personal life, granting few interviews and offering little insight behind the scenes.
His enduring popularity never really waned from his 1971 debut. On Friday, he was at the Forum in Los Angeles as part of his “MeXXIco es Todos” tour, with “XXI” representing the 21st century. He was scheduled to appear at Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix on Sunday, Oct. 23.
A new album, “Vestido de Etiqueta por Eduardo Magallanes,” was released two weeks ago. His previous two studio albums, 2015’s “Los Duo” and “Los Duo 2,” emphasized his cross-generational, boundary-crossing appeal, featuring duets with veterans like Franco de Vita, Vicente Fernandez and Ana Gabriel, as well as younger talents like Carla Morrison, Antonio Orozco and Natalia Jimenez. Both discs reached No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts.
“Juan Gabriel is one of the purest expressions of Mexican music,” Tovar y de Teresa added.