Juan Gabriel is a Mexican singer, songwriter, and actor known colloquially as Juanga and El Divo de Juárez for his flamboyant style, which has broken barriers in the Latin music industry.
Juan Gabriel won three Latin Grammy Awards. Juan Gabriel sang in Mexico on the first single from the posthumous album.
Juan Gabriel has always supported the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the party that ruled Mexico from 1929 to 2000, and then from 2012 to 2018.
Juan Gabriel’s Biography
Alberto Aguilera Valadez (January 7, 1950 – August 28, 2016), known by his stage name Juan Gabriel, was a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor. Known colloquially as Juanga and El Divo de Juárez, Juan Gabriel is known for his flamboyant style, breaking down barriers in the Latin music industry.
Widely considered one of the best and most prolific Mexican composers and singers of all time, he is often considered a pop music icon. Having sold approximately 40 million records worldwide, Juan Gabriel is one of the best-selling music artists in Latin America. His 19th studio album, Recuerdos, Vol. II is said to be the best-selling album of all time in Mexico, with over 8 million copies sold. During his career, Juan Gabriel wrote about 1,800 songs.
Among his most famous songs are “Amor eterno”, “Querida”, “Yo no nací para amar”, “Hasta que te conocí”, “El Noa Noa”, “No tengo dinero”, “Abrázame muy fuerte”, “Te lo pido por favor”, “En esta primavera”, “Pero qué necesidad”, “Te sigo amando”, “Siempre en mi mente”, “De mí enamórate”, and “Lo pasado, pasado”, among other works, all performed by him and many other artists.
Juan Gabriel was born in Parácuaro, Michoacán, Mexico. The son of farmers Gabriel Aguilera Rodríguez and Victoria Valadez Rojas, he was the youngest of 10 siblings. During his childhood, his father was committed to a mental hospital. For this reason, his mother moved to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and he was placed in El Tribunal boarding school, where he remained for eight years.
There he met school principal Micaela Alvarado and teacher Juan Contreras. Juan Gabriel became very close to Contreras, later escaping from El Tribunal and living with him for a year when he was 13 years old. That same year, he composed his first song. At the age of 14, he returned to live with his mother in the center of town. He became interested in a local Methodist church and met sisters Leonor and Beatriz Berúmen, who took him in. There he sang in the choir and helped clean the church.
In 1965, Juan Gabriel debuted on the television show Noches Rancheras de Noticias (now Gala TV Ciudad Juárez). Host Raúl Loya gave him the pseudonym Adán Luna. During the show, he sang “María la Bandida” by José Alfredo Jiménez. From 1966 to 1968, he worked as a singer at the Noa-Noa bar. During this time, he wrote the song “El Noa Noa”. He also works as a singer in other bars around town and then went to Mexico City to look for opportunities at record labels but was turned down.
He returned to Juárez, where he continued to work as a singer. The following year, he tried again to get signed by a label. At RCA Víctor, he was hired by Eduardo Magallanes as a backup singer, working for Roberto Jordan, Angélica María and Estela Núñez. In 1970, he resigned because he did not receive enough salary and returned to work in bars in Juárez.
Although people told him he would succeed if he tried again, he returned to Mexico City a third time the following year. Without enough money, Juan Gabriel had to sleep at bus and train stations. At one point he was falsely accused of theft and imprisoned in the Palacio de Lecumberri prison for a year and a half. During this time, he wrote songs (including “Tres Claveles y Un Rosal” and “Me He Quedado Solo”), which allowed him to meet Andrés Puentes Vargas, the director of Lecumberri prison, who introduced him to the Mexican singer and actor Prieta Linda and wife Ofelia Urtuzuastegui Ruiz.
She helped him and due to lack of evidence, he was released from prison and lived in the Puentes Urtuzuastegui house for about 2 years, where he found refuge, protection, and support to write more articles sang, and launched his career professionally under the name Juan Gabriel.
Juan Gabriel has never been married but has six children. The mother of his four children (Iván Gabriel, Joan Gabriel, Hans Gabriel, and Jean Gabriel) is Laura Salas. Gabriel said that Salas was “the best friend of my life”. Almost a month after his death, the news program Primer Impacto discovered that Gabriel had a fifth child, a son named Luis Alberto Aguilera, living in Las Vegas. The two have a long-distance relationship, mostly communicating via email.
The mother of his fifth child is Guadalupe Gonzalez, who used to work as a domestic worker for Gabriel. On October 26, 2016, Primer Impacto found Juan Gabriel’s sixth child, named Joao Gabriel, living in Los Angeles, California. João’s mother was Consuelo Rosales, who also served as Gabriel’s housekeeper. Genetic testing was performed to assess Gabriel’s ancestry with Luis Alberto and Joao, with genetic material provided by Gabriel’s brother, Pablo Aguilera.
Although widely believed to be gay, Juan Gabriel has never been clear about his sexuality. However, as he grew older, he began giving tacit answers to questions about his sexuality, telling interviewers (“What is seen is not need to wonder”)). Some may interpret this as an implied affirmation of homosexuality, while others interpret it as an affirmation of heterosexuality, due to the presence of a female partner which he has.
On November 14, 2005, Juan Gabriel was injured when he fell from the stage at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, and was hospitalized at the Texas Medical Center. He broke his neck and was forced to take a break from touring and was bedridden for eight months.
On August 28, 2016, Juan Gabriel died in Santa Monica, California, apparently from a heart attack. His body was cremated; and his ashes were returned to the house he owned in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, after receiving tributes from the city and the Palacio de Bellas Artes de Mexico. No autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death.
Juan Gabriel’s Nationality
Juan Gabriel was a Mexican born in Parácuaro, Mexico
Juan Gabriel’s Net Worth
Juan Gabriel was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor with a net worth of $30 million at the time of his death.
Where is Juan Gabriel from?
Juan Gabriel is from Parácuaro a municipality of Michoacán, Mexico. It is a Purépecha word for “place that has stuck for a roof”.
How old is Juan Gabriel?
Juan Gabriel died at the age of 66; he was born on January 7, 1950, and died in 2016
Juan Gabriel’s Height & Weight
Juan Gabriel was 5 ft 8 in / 173 cm tall and weighed 150 lb / 68 kg
Juan Gabriel’s Career
La Prieta Linda supported Aguilera at RCA Victor, where he signed a recording contract. He began using the pen name Juan Gabriel (Juan, in honor of Juan Contreras; and Gabriel, in honor of his own father). In 1971, Juan Gabriel released his first studio album, El Alma Joven…, which included the song “No Tengo Dinero”, which became his first single and first hit. Elma Joven… has been certified gold by the Mexican Association of Phonogram and Videogram Producers (AMPROFON).
In 1972, Juan Gabriel participated in the OTI Festival, where he sang the songs “Será Mañana” and “Uno, Dos y Tres (Y Me Dás un Beso)”. The songs did not qualify to represent Mexico, but they were highly praised and were later recorded for his second album El Alma Joven II. After the release of El Alma Joven III (1973), Juan Gabriel released his first mariachi album with the group Vargas de Tecalitlán.
The album, titled Juan Gabriel con el Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán (1974), included songs such as “Se Me Olvidó Otra Vez” and “Lágrimas y Lluvia”. In 1975, he made his acting debut in the film Nobleza Ranchera, alongside Sara García and Verónica Castro.
For fifteen years, Juan Gabriel’s fame grew as he recorded 15 albums and sold 20 million records. He wrote and recorded more than 1,000 songs in many musical genres. Juan Gabriel has established himself as Mexico’s most important commercial singer-songwriter, writing in styles as diverse as mariachi ranchera, ballads, pop, rock, and disco, with a series of hits that are astonishing for him even to the main Latin singers, including Lucha Villa.
Daniela Romo and Ana Gabriel and international stars Luis Miguel, Rocío Dúrcal, and José José, who in 1978 achieved international recognition for Aguilera’s ballad “Lo Pasado, Pasado”. Its lyrics dealing with heartbreak and romantic relationships became national anthems across Latin America, Spain, and the United States.
His work as an arranger, producer, and musician over the following decades brought him into contact with the biggest Latin artists of the day, including Rocío Dúrcal and Isabel Pantoja. In addition to recording many hits himself, Juan Gabriel also produced albums for Dúrcal, Lucha Villa, Lola Beltrán, and Paul Anka.
In 1984, he released Recuerdos, Vol. II, according to one source, is the best-selling album of all time in Mexico with over 8 million copies sold. In 1990, Juan Gabriel became the first non-classical artist to perform at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Profits from three sold-out concerts were donated to the National Symphony Orchestra.
Juan Gabriel won two Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2002 for Hot Latin Song of the Year and Latin Pop Airplay Song of the Year; and also received the Musician of the Year award. The song debuted at number seven on the Hot Latin Songs 25th Anniversary chart. “Abrázame Muy Fuerte” was also awarded Pop Song of the Year at the 2002 Lo Nuestro Awards.
At the time of his death, Juan Gabriel was touring the United States and was scheduled to perform at a concert in El Paso, Texas that same day. He also had four albums reach number one in the Top Latin Albums in 2015 and 2016, including Vestido de Etiqueta por Eduardo Magallanes, which reached number one a week before his death. He holds the record for the most albums, reaching number one on the Top Latin Albums chart for a short period of time.
In 1986, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley declared October 5 as Juan Gabriel Day. He received the Lo Nuestro Award of Excellence in 1991. In 1996, he was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame, while in 2003 he was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and later was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Juan Gabriel 172nd on the list of the 200 greatest singers of all time.
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) awarded Juan Gabriel Latin Musician of the Year in 1995, 1996, and 1998. In 1999, Gabriel received the People’s Choice Award for Best Regional Artist. That same year, he received the La Opinión Tributo Nacional award for his entire career.
A statue was erected by Billboard in Mexico City’s Plaza Garibaldi in 2001 and remains a popular destination for mariachi performances. In 2009, the male singer was honored as Person of the Year by the Latin Recording Academy. He also received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2002.
Juan Gabriel’s Marital Status
Juan Gabriel has never been married but has six children.
Juan Gabriel’s Family & Siblings
Juan Gabriel is the son of farmers Gabriel Aguilera Rodríguez and Victoria Valadez Rojas, he was the youngest of 10 siblings.
Why is Juan Gabriel famous?
Juan Gabriel is famous as a Mexican singer, songwriter, and actor known colloquially as Juanga and El Divo de Juárez for his flamboyant style, which has broken barriers in the Latin music industry.
Juan Gabriel’s Children
Juan Gabriel has never been married but has six children. The mother of his four children (Iván Gabriel, Joan Gabriel, Hans Gabriel, and Jean Gabriel) is Laura Salas. Gabriel said that Salas was “the best friend of my life”. Almost a month after his death, the news program Primer Impacto discovered that Gabriel had a fifth child, a son named Luis Alberto Aguilera, living in Las Vegas. The two have a long-distance relationship, mostly communicating via email.
The mother of his fifth child is Guadalupe Gonzalez, who used to work as a domestic worker for Gabriel. On October 26, 2016, Primer Impacto found Juan Gabriel’s sixth child, named Joao Gabriel, living in Los Angeles, California. João’s mother was Consuelo Rosales, who also served as Gabriel’s housekeeper. Genetic testing was performed to assess Gabriel’s ancestry with Luis Alberto and Joao, with genetic material provided by Gabriel’s brother, Pablo Aguilera.
Juan Gabriel’s Social Media
Juan Gabriel seems not to be on any social media platform as there is no handle that could be linked to him.
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