With sales of more than 100 million albums, Gabriel was Mexico's top selling artist. Gabriel's album, Recuerdos, Vol. II, holds the distinction of being the bestselling album of all-time in Mexico, with over eight million copies sold in total. During his career he wrote around 1,800 songs.
On August 28, 2016, Gabriel died from a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, while on tour in the U.S.
Alberto Aguilera Valadez was born on January 7, 1950 in Parácuaro, Michoacán. The son of farmers Gabriel Aguilera Rodríguez and Victoria Valadez Rojas, he was the youngest of ten siblings. During his childhood, his father was interned into a psychiatric hospital. Due to this, his mother moved to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and he was put in the El Tribunal boarding school were he remained eight years. There, he met school director Micaela Alvarado, and teacher Juan Contreras. Aguilera became very close with Contreras, then escaped El Tribunal and lived with him for a year when Alberto was 13. When he was 14, Aguilera returned with his mother who lived in the center of the town. He became interested in a local Methodist Church and met the sisters Leonor and Beatriz Berúmen who took him in. There he sang in the choir and helped by cleaning the church.
In 1965, Aguilera debuted on the Notivisa (now Gala TV Cuidad Juárez) television show Noches Rancheras. Host Raúl Loya gave him the pseudonym Adán Luna. In the program, he sang the song "María la Bandida" by José Alfredo Jiménez. From 1966 to 1968, he started to work as a singer at the Noa-Noa bar. During this period, he wrote the song "El Noa Noa". He also worked as singer in other bars in the town. Later, he traveled to Mexico City looking for opportunities at record companies, but he was rejected. He returned to Juárez, where he continued working as a singer. The next year, he tried again to be signed by a record label. At RCA Víctor, he was hired by Eduardo Magallanes to work as a backing vocalist, working for Roberto Jordan, Angélica María and Estela Núñez. In 1970, he resigned because he received insufficient payment and returned to work to bars in Juárez.
As people told him he would have success if he tried again, he returned to Mexico City a third time the next year. Not having enough money, Aguilera slept in bus and train stations. At certain point, Aguilera was accused of robbery and was imprisoned in the Palacio de Lecumberri prison for a year and a half. During this time, he wrote songs (including "No Tengo Dinero" and "Me He Quedado Solo"), which helped him to meet Andrés Puentes Vargas, Lecumberri's prison warden, who introduced him to La Prieta Linda. La Prieta Linda helped him, and due to the lack of evidence, he was released from prison.
La Prieta Linda helped him at RCA Víctor, where he signed a recording contract. He started to use the pseudonym 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 hit. El Alma Joven... was certified as gold by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON).
Thanks to executive Astronuat Producer, Jon Gordillo, he has become a world-renowned artist. Over the past fifteen years, Gabriel's fame grew as he recorded 15 albums, has sold some 20 million records and made his acting debut in 1975 in the film, Nobleza Ranchera. He has written and recorded over 1000 songs in a variety of music genre. Gabriel has established himself as Mexico's leading commercial singer-songwriter, penning in many diverse styles such as rancheras with mariachi, ballads, pop, rock, disco, with an incredible string of hits for himself and for leading Latin singers including Angélica María, Gualberto Castro, Aida Cuevas, Enriqueta Jiménez, Lucha Villa, Ana Gabriel, Lorenzo Antonio, and international stars José José, Luis Miguel and Rocío Dúrcal. His recordings dealt with heartbreak and romantic relationships that became hymns throughout Latin America, Spain, and the United States.
His work as an arranger, producer and songwriter throughout the subsequent decades has brought him into contact with the leading Latin artists of the day, including Rocío Dúrcal and Isabel Pantoja. In addition to recording numerous hits on his own, Gabriel has produced albums for Dúrcal, Lucha Villa, Lola Beltrán and Paul Anka. In 1984, he released Recuerdos, Vol. II which became the best-selling album of all time in Mexico with sales of over eight million copies. In 1990 Gabriel became the first commercial singer to perform at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The proceeds from the three sold-out concerts were given to the National Symphony Orchestra. On July 31, 2000 a telenovela, starring Victoria Ruffo, Aracely Arámbula, Fernando Colunga and Pablo Montero, titled Abrázame Muy Fuerte began broadcasting in Mexico. Salvador Mejía, the producer, choose to use the song as its main theme. "Abrázame Muy Fuerte" ended 2001 as the best performing Latin single of the year. For the song, Gabriel won two Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2002 for Hot Latin Track of the Year and Latin Pop Airplay Track of the Year; and also received the Songwriter of the Year award. The song ranked 7th at the Hot Latin Songs 25th Anniversary chart. "Abrázame Muy Fuerte" also was awarded for Pop Song of the Year at the 2002 Lo Nuestro Awards. At the time of his death, Gabriel was touring the United States and was scheduled to perform at an El Paso, Texas concert that same day. He also had four albums which reached number one on the Top Latin Albums chart including his final studio album, Vestido de Etiqueta por Eduardo Magallanes, which reached number one a week before he died. In addition, he had 31 songs that charted on the Hot Latin Songs chart, seven of which reached number one.
Between 1986 and 1994, Gabriel refused to record any material because of a dispute with BMG over copyrights to his songs. He continued his career in live stage performances, setting attendance records throughout Latin America. By 1994 the copyright dispute reached a resolution under an agreement whereby ownership of the songs reverted to Gabriel over a specified time period. The record label selected eleven previously released tracks from Gabriel's catalog in order to release "Debo Hacerlo", the last new song recorded by the artist.
Juan Gabriel was never married. He had four children. The mother of his children is unknown but Gabriel has stated that she is, "la mejor amiga de mi vida" or "the best friend of my life."
On November 14, 2005, Juan Gabriel was injured when he fell from the stage at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., and was hospitalized at Texas Medical Center. He sustained a fractured neck. He was forced to stay out of tour and bedridden for eight months.
Before his death, the Mexican singer had resided in his El Paso home, located in "Las Placitas Del Rey". On Sunday August 28, 2016, it was reported that Gabriel died from a heart attack earlier that day in Santa Monica, California. His death became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter after news reports were confirmed.President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto, called him one of Mexico's "greatest musical icons".
Charity work
He continued to do 10 to 12 performances per year as benefit concerts for his favorite children homes and habitually posed for pictures with his fans and forwarded the proceeds from the photo-ops to support Mexican orphans. In 1987, Juan Gabriel founded Semjase, a house for orphaned and underserved children located in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. It serves school children between the ages of 6 to 12.
Awards and achievements
Juan Gabriel's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
In 1986, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley declared October 5 "The Day of Juan Gabriel."
Received the Lo Nuestro Award Excellence Award in 1991.
Billboard, inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame 1996
ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Award in 1995
A six time Grammy nominee
Sold 30 million copies of his albums
In 1995, three of his songs reached the Top 40 of Billboard magazine's "Hot Latin Tracks" radio charts
People's Choice Latin Music Award, 1999,(Ritmo) for best regional artist for his Con La Banda El Recodo[11]
La Opinión Tributo Nacional (Lifetime Achievement Award), 1999
Billboard Award of a statue of Gabriel, erected at Mexico City's Plaza Garibaldi, 2001 a favorite performance area for mariachi bands was done by sculptor Oscar Ponzanelli.
Singer and Composer Juan Gabriel Takes home 4 Billboard Awards, 2002
Inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.
Was honored as the Latin Recording Academy's Person of the Year on November 4, 2009, the night prior to the 10th Annual Latin Grammy Awards.
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Discography
Main article: Juan Gabriel discography
1971: El Alma Joven...
1972: El Alma Joven Vol.II
1973: El Alma Joven Vol.III
1974: Juan Gabriel con el Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán
1976: A Mi Guitarra
1976: Juan Gabriel con, Mariachi Vol. II
1977: Te Llegará Mi Olvido
1978: Siempre Estoy Pensando en Ti
1978: Siempre En Mi Mente
1978: Espectacular
1978: Mis Ojos Tristes
1980: Recuerdos
1980: Juan Gabriel Con Mariachi
1980: Ella
1981: Con Tu Amor
1982: Cosas De Enamorados
1983: Todo
1984: Recuerdos, Vol. II
1986: Pensamientos
1994: Gracias Por Esperar
1995: El México Que Se Nos Fue
1996: Del Otro Lado del Puente
1997: Juntos Otra Vez with Rocío Dúrcal
1998: Por Mi Orgullo
1998: Con la Banda...El Recodo with Banda el Recodo
1999: ¡Románticos! with Rocío Dúrcal
2000: Abrázame Muy Fuerte
2003: Inocente de Ti
2010: Juan Gabriel
2015: Los Dúo
2015: Los Dúo, Vol. 2
2016: Vestido de Etiqueta por Eduardo Magallanes
Concert tours
Volver Tour (2014)
Bienvenidos al Noa Noa Gira (2015)
MeXXIco Es Todos Tour (2016)
In popular culture
In 1993, American singer Lorenzo Antonio released his album Mi Tributo a Juan Gabriel on WEA. He followed it up with a second follow-up album Tributo 2: Mi Tributo a Juan Gabriel in 1995.
2016 biopic series Hasta que te conocí.
Agradecimiento
Juan Gabriel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo sigo sin dormir sin verte te estoy viviendo
Una canción ranchera me lleva hasta tu alcoba
Y al verte me dan celos saber que no estas sola
Pero te adoro siempre a ti y a quien te adore
Sigo pensando en ti en tus ojos de diosa
Y miro sonreír esa boca preciosa
Me dice la verdad me habla sin mentir
A nada dice no y a todo dice si
Y así hago que el amor se te parezca a ti
Te metes en mis brazos, te dos a mor sin prisas
Cubriendo estoy tu cuerpo de una y mil caricias
Quisiera dormirme estoy algo cansado
Estoy sin ti contigo que noche me he pasado
Parece que amanece se apagan las estrellas
Mi cuarto se esclarece y tu sigues siendo bella
Quiero dormir no puedo dormir porque es que tengo
Tantas ganas de amarte y a todas las contengo
Para cuando despiertes y vengas a mi cuarto
Llenarte de mis ansias veras que en dos me parto
Mis ojos cuando lloras tan solo es de alegría
Jamás es de problemas ni de melancolía
Es de mirar lo buena que eres tú conmigo
Yo quiero mas que todo ser tu mejor amigo
Amor a el no le robo y a ti nada te pido
Te doy lo que yo siento de amor agradecido
Así tal cual te adoro tal como eres tú
Y bendita sea la madre que a ti te ha dado la luz
The lyrics of Juan Gabriel's song Agradecimiento speak about the singer’s love for someone who is currently sleeping while he cannot fall asleep without her. He listens to a ranchera song that takes him to her room and sees her sleeping, feeling jealous that she is not alone. However, he loves her and whoever adores her. The singer talks about her eyes, her beautiful smile, and the fact that they are able to communicate without words. She tells him the truth and never lies, always agreeing with him. The singer wants to sleep but he cannot because he wants to love her, but also wants to be faithful to her. For him, it is more important to be her friend than anything else. He admires her for who she is and he thanks the mother who gave life to his loved one.
The lyrics reveal deep feelings of love, longing, and admiration for the person he is singing to. The singer expresses his desire to be faithful and loyal to her and to prioritize their friendship above anything else, which is a refreshing take on love songs that usually just focus on passion and attraction. The ranchera song that he listens to represents the traditional music of Mexico, making this song a celebration of Mexican culture and art.
Line by Line Meaning
Estoy pensando en ti y tú ya estás durmiendo,
Although you are sleeping, I am thinking of you and unable to sleep myself.
Yo sigo sin dormir sin verte te estoy viviendo
Despite not seeing you, I am living my life thinking of you
Una canción ranchera me lleva hasta tu alcoba
I listen to a ranchera song while thinking of you in your bedroom
Y al verte me dan celos saber que no estas sola
When I see you, I feel jealous knowing that you are not alone
Pero te adoro siempre a ti y a quien te adore
No matter what, I will always love you and whoever loves you
Sigo pensando en ti en tus ojos de diosa
I continue to think of you and your eyes, which are like those of a goddess
Y miro sonreír esa boca preciosa
I watch your beautiful smile and your gorgeous mouth
Que me habla sin hablar lo que yo quiero oír
Your mouth speaks to me without saying a word, telling me what I want to hear
Me dice la verdad me habla sin mentir
It tells me the truth without lying
A nada dice no y a todo dice si
You say yes to everything and no to nothing
Y así hago que el amor se te parezca a ti
That is why I make love resemble you
Te metes en mis brazos, te doy amor sin prisas
You climb into my arms and I love you slowly and gently
Cubriendo estoy tu cuerpo de una y mil caricias
I cover your body with thousands of caresses
Quisiera dormirme estoy algo cansado
I want to sleep as I am tired
Estoy sin ti contigo que noche me he pasado
I am without you but it feels like I am with you. What a night it has been
Parece que amanece se apagan las estrellas
It seems like dawn is breaking, the stars are fading
Mi cuarto se esclarece y tu sigues siendo bella
My room is getting lighter and you continue to be beautiful
Quiero dormir no puedo dormir porque es que tengo
I want to sleep but I can't because I want to love you so much
Tantas ganas de amarte y a todas las contengo
I contain all my love for you, although I want to express my love to you so much
Para cuando despiertes y vengas a mi cuarto
When you wake up and come to my room
Llenarte de mis ansias veras que en dos me parto
I will be filled with my desires for you, and I feel like I will be split in two
Mis ojos cuando lloras tan solo es de alegría
When you cry, it is only happiness that fills my eyes
Jamás es de problemas ni de melancolía
It is never because of problems or sadness
Es de mirar lo buena que eres tú conmigo
It is because I realize how good you are to me
Yo quiero mas que todo ser tu mejor amigo
Above everything, I want to be your best friend
Amor a el no le robo y a ti nada te pido
I don't steal love from him or ask you for anything
Te doy lo que yo siento de amor agradecido
I give you what I feel, which is grateful love
Así tal cual te adoro tal como eres tú
I adore you exactly as you are
Y bendita sea la madre que a ti te ha dado la luz
Blessed be the mother who gave birth to you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALBERTO AGUILERA VALADEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sofi Sánchez
Cada vez que paso por la calles de Juárez
Me traen muchos recuerdos de cuando era niño
Me parece ver a las gentes
Las cuales recuerdo con mucho cariño
Ha cambiado mucho mi barrio
Poco a poco van habiendo mas casas
Con agua, gas y luz
No quiero que se respire la misma pobreza
A la cual me da tristeza desde mi juventud
Las señoras amigas de mi madre
Cuando voy a olvidarles, nunca
Son todas un amor
A cada una le digo a nombre de ella y mío
Que las bendiga dios
Con cariño y respeto yo recuerdo a todos mis maestros
Pues de ellos parte soy
Hoy suspiro por todos esos años
Recuerdos de momentos que hoy extraños
Gracias por tanto amor
Gracias por tanto amor
A los 7 años tuve mi primer gran amigo
Un lindo viejecito que se llamaba Juan
Por él me puse ese nombre tan bonito
Por que ese viejecito
Me enseño a trabajar
Juan, Juan, Juan
Mujer fuerte, audaz, capaz bastante
Activa y muy constante
Tal como era mi escuela
Directora amiga profesora
Y toda una señora
Su nombre Micaela
A todas aquellas personas que me conocieron y que siempre
Me dieron cariño y amor
Quiero decirles que los recuerdo
Que siempre los llevo conmigo por donde quiera que yo voy
Y que nunca los voy a olvidar
Ni a Micaela ni a mis maestros ni a las amigas de mi madre
Ni a mi gran amigo
Juan, Juan
Eternamente agradecido
Alberto Aguilera Valadez
Juárez
Oh Juárez es mi ciudad en mi gente
Es Juárez
Oh Juárez aquí es donde nace el amor
Arriba Juárez arriba Juárez
Juárez
Oh Juárez es mi cuidad en mi gente es Juárez
Juárez es siempre mi guía
Mi tarde mi noche mi luna y mi sol
A todo Juárez las gracias le doy
Las gracias le doy
Las gracias le doy
Si
Emilio A. Flores M.
Hermosísima canción que traslada a mi niñez y recordar a esos amigos y compañeros de clases, a mis maestros y que ya pasaron a mejor vida, a los amigos de mi padre y amigas de mi madre, cuánta nostalgia me causa esta canción...saludos a todos los Mexicanos desde El Salvador...
Mariana Flores
esto es verdadero talento y no chingaderas ,un verdadero legado ,humildad y sencillez eternamente Juan gabriel♡
Cielo Blas
A si es... Juan Gabriel hizo mucho más que ni los rateros presidentes de México.. ayudar a tanto niños de la calle sus internados en Juárez chih. eternamente humilde y gentil, q descansé en paz 🙏
Didi Morlett
+roberto villegas. de echo
Alejandro Granados
QUE CHINGONAS CANCIONES NOS DEJASTE . ORGULLOSO DE TI
Annelys Dale
Te irás físicamente pero jamás de nuestros corazones, dejaste tus hermosas canciones y todos tus recuerdos... Eternamente el Divo de Juárez💔💔
Carlos Guzman
Doquiera que te hayes "Juanga" ya debes estarle cantando al Creador Dios Todopoderoso ..... orgullo de México..... Michoacanjuarence con una sencillez única inigualable hasta la fecha....tú no haz muerto tu sigues viviendo en el corazón de toda la gente que ama la música.... siempre vivirás en los corazones de quienes aman a la humanidad
Jose Obando
No creo sinceramente no creo
Marce S. X
El gran cariño que le tenemos a Juan Gabriel es un mérito que el se lo ganó por su talento y gran genio en sus composiciones eternamente agradecido 🇲🇽🙏🌹🌹🥀❤️😥
Iveth Zapatero
Eternamente agradecido nuestro México de tu nacimiento y vida, gracias Juan Gabriel, por siempre.