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.
La Farsante
Juan Gabriel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo que creí que eras sincera
Yo te di mi cariño
Resultaste traicionera
Tú me hiciste rebelde
Tú me hiciste tu enemigo
Tú que me traicionaste
Este orgullo que tengo no lo vas a mirar
En el suelo tirado como una basura
Yo me quito hasta el nombre y te doy mi palabra de honor
Que de mí no te burlas
Yo te juro por todo lo que sucedió
Que te arrepentirás de este mal que me has hecho
Sabes que, que no descansaré hasta verte a mis pies
Y eso da lo por hecho
Ya verás traicionera
Lo vas a pagar muy caro
Yo soy bueno a la buena
Y por las malas soy muy malo
No quisiste ser buena
Y ya vez lo que resulta
Yo no quise ser malo
Pero tú tienes la culpa
Y es que tú ya de mí no te vas a burlar
Hoy te juro capricho yo haré que me quieras
Ya veras que hasta vas aprender
Como debes amar a dios en tierra ajena
Porque tú a mis espaldas me hiciste traición
Hoy por eso te voy a quitar lo farsante
Voy a ser que tu hincada me pidas perdón
Y me implores amor delante de tu amante
In Juan Gabriel's song La Farsante, the singer expresses his disappointment and anger towards a woman who he thought was good and honest, but who turned out to be deceitful and betrayed his trust. He gave her his love, but she ended up being his foe. The singer declares that he will not allow her to trample on his pride and dignity, and swears to make her regret the harm she has caused him. He is determined to make her pay for her betrayal, and states that he can be good to those who deserve it, but also very bad to those who do not. He blames her for his transformation from a good-natured person to a rebellious one. The singer makes clear that he is not going to let her mock him anymore and that he will show her how to love truly.
The song is charged with emotion, and the singer conveys a sense of hurt, rage, and retribution. He uses strong words to express his feelings, such as "traicionera" (traitorous), "malas" (bad), "farsante" (deceitful), and "capricho" (whim). The song touches upon themes of trust, love, and betrayal, and the lyrics reflect the pain and disillusionment that come with being deceived by someone who was supposed to be true.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo creí que eras buena
I thought you were a good person
Yo que creí que eras sincera
I believed you were honest
Yo te di mi cariño
I gave you my love
Resultaste traicionera
You turned out to be a traitor
Tú me hiciste rebelde
You made me rebellious
Tú me hiciste tu enemigo
You made me your enemy
Tú que me traicionaste
You who betrayed me
Sin razón y sin motivo
Without reason or cause
Este orgullo que tengo no lo vas a mirar
You won't see this pride I have
En el suelo tirado como una basura
Thrown on the ground like trash
Yo me quito hasta el nombre y te doy mi palabra de honor
I will even give up my name and give you my word of honor
Que de mí no te burlas
That you won't make fun of me
Yo te juro por todo lo que sucedió
I swear to you by everything that happened
Que te arrepentirás de este mal que me has hecho
That you will regret the wrong you did to me
Sabes que, que no descansaré hasta verte a mis pies
You know that I won't rest until I see you at my feet
Y eso da lo por hecho
And that's for sure
Ya verás traicionera
You'll see, traitor
Lo vas a pagar muy caro
You're going to pay a high price for this
Yo soy bueno a la buena
I am good to those who are good
Y por las malas soy muy malo
And I am very bad to those who are bad
No quisiste ser buena
You didn't want to be good
Y ya vez lo que resulta
And you see what happens
Yo no quise ser malo
I didn't want to be bad
Pero tú tienes la culpa
But it's your fault
Y es que tú ya de mí no te vas a burlar
And you won't make fun of me anymore
Hoy te juro capricho yo haré que me quieras
Today I swear that I will make you love me out of whim
Ya veras que hasta vas aprender
You'll see, you'll even learn
Como debes amar a dios en tierra ajena
How to love God in a foreign land
Porque tú a mis espaldas me hiciste traición
Because you betrayed me behind my back
Hoy por eso te voy a quitar lo farsante
That's why today I'll expose you as a fraud
Voy a ser que tu hincada me pidas perdón
I will make you beg for forgiveness on your knees
Y me implores amor delante de tu amante
And beg for my love in front of your lover
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alberto Aguilera Valadez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@elviarodriguezq7982
Canta muy bello grasias Juan Gabriel se me olvidó otra ves ....
@Viviana808
Les quedo bien padre el video, casi lloro al recordar a JuanGa. 🙏😭 Dios lo tenga en su santa Gloria.
@javip.m.3457
Soy español y me pasa como a ti....me dan ganas de llorar solo con nombrarlo
@vicenteguarachi9542
Chano
@vicenteguarachi9542
@@javip.m.3457 grupo el chano
@yurayuri5580
@@vicenteguarachi9542 La canción perfecta para dedicar a tu ex es una balada ranchera que se llama "Ahora ves que no soy ingenuo", del cantante Reytel Infante
@elviarodriguezq7982
Gradias.me gusta porqueel que canta muy bonito.
@paulinaalejandraruizperez1373
te amo Juanga, siempre te escuchaba todo el día con mi abue, espero reunirme con ustedes allá arriba cuando sea mi momento, los llevo en mi corazón😢❤️
@carlos.hank02
Amiga quiero decirte que Juan Gabriel esta vivo, vive en Morelos afortunadamente :)
@simonroldanramirezramirez8793
Ppp0000 un un y tú no se te 6😮😮