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Mexican singer and composer Juan Gabriel by Julio Enriquez from

Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Famous Mexican Singer Juan Gabriel

Alberto Aguilera Valadez also known as Juan Gabriel was born on January 7, 1950. The singer died on 28 august 2016. He was a renowned Mexican singer and songwriter and also an actor.

He had several nicknames like Juanga and El Divo de Ju谩rez. He was known for his extra-living lifestyle that went beyond the normal barriers in the Latin music industry. Gabriel was one of the best and most prolific Mexican composers and singers of all time and was referred to as a pop icon. 

Here are the top 10 interesting truths about Juan Gabriel.

1. Juan Gabriel’s music passion began in his childhood

Mexican singer and composer Juan Gabriel by Bernardin from

Juan Gabriel was born in a family of farmers with his father being Gabriel Aguilera Rodr铆guez and Victoria Valadez Rojas his mother. He had ten siblings and was last out of the ten.

His father later became sick and was admitted into a psychiatric hospital. As a result, they moved with his mother to Ciudad Ju谩rez, Chihuahua.  Juan was enrolled in a boarding school for almost eight years.

It was then he met his teacher and director of the school where they became close with him and later lived with them for a year until he was 13 years old. He rejoined his mom at the age of 14. During those years, he developed an interest in a local Methodist church.  His sister took him in and encouraged Gabriel to sing in the choir.

2. Juan Gabriel composed his first song at 13 years

Juan’s music career began at age 13 when he composed his first song.  When he was age 14 and he went back to stay with his mom he took the chance to join the choir at the Methodist church.

In 1965 he began his professional music career on the Notivisa television show. The role he had on the show was to sing “Mar铆a la Bandida” by Jimenez. In the year 1966 to 1968, he officially started work as a singer at the Noa 鈥揘oa bar.

During that period he wrote the El Noa Noa while still singing in other bars in the town. This motivated him to go to Mexico City to look for a chance in record companies though he faced rejection.

He chose to return to Ju谩rez to continue singing. Later he decided to try his luck again and went back to the city to see if he would be signed by the record companies.

Gabriel managed to be taken as a backing vocalist working for Roberto Jordan, Ang茅lica Mar铆a, and Estela Nunez. He worked for a while and resigned due to underpayment.

3. Juan Gabriel was in prison for over a year

Juan’s focus was to succeed and those around him motivated him to keep trying until his mission of being signed by a company bore fruit. So he decided to go back to Mexico city for the third time hoping to triumph.

Gabriel didn鈥檛 have enough money and slept on the bus and train stations. This led to the incident of him being wrongly accused of robbery and imprisoned in the  Palacio de Lecumberri prison for a year and a half.

While in prison he wrote songs like “Tres Claveles y Un Rosal” and “Solo鈥�. It is here that he met the prison warden who introduced him to Mexican singer and actress La Prieta Linda. She also pushed for his release since there was no sufficient evidence against him.

4. Juan Gabriel’s first studio album was “El Alma Joven”

Mexican singer and composer Juan Gabriel by Viva Iquique from

Juan Gabriel was helped by La Prieta Linda at RCA where he was eventually signed. That’s when he started using the name, Juan Gabriel. In 1971, he made his first studio album called El Alma Joven.

Some popular songs in his first album were no tengo dinero. Which become his first hit and el Alma Joven was certified as gold by the Asociaci贸n Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas  y Videogramas. 

5. Gabriel’s executive producer in the Tv series the Astronauts helped him gain global fame

Gabriel Juan’s executive Astronauts producer helped him become a world artist. The series is centered on the life of Gabriel from his childhood to his last adulthood. His fame grew and recorded over 15 albums and sold 20 million records. He also wrote over 1000 songs in a variety of music genres. He became Mexico’s leading commercial, singer, and songwriter in many diverse styles. 

6. His international reorganization came in 1978

Mexican singer and composer Juan Gabriel by Viva Iquique from

Gabriel Juan’s international appreciation started in the year 1978. This was thanks to Aguilera’s ballad. His lyrics related to heartbreaks and romantic relationships which are aspects that many people associate with. 

The songs became hymns throughout Latin America, Spain, and the United States. In the year 1984, his song remained at number one entire year on the Mexico chart. He also received a Grammy nomination for best Latin pop album for Recuerdos, Vol. II.

7. Gabriel Juan was a producer and songwriter 

Gabriel Juan over his time rose to be a producer and songwriter. This led him to meet leading Latin artists of the day which included Roc铆o D煤rcal and Isabel Pantoja. This did not stop him to record many hits of his own.

Some note-worthy albums he did as a producer were for D煤rcal, Lucha Villa, Lola Beltr谩n, and Paul Anka. In the year 1984, he produced his album Recuerdos, Vol. II which sold 8 million copies in Mexico alone.

The album is considered one of his best works. It led him to perform in the non-classical acts in the Palacio de Bellas Artes. This resulted in sold-out concerts at the National Symphony Orchestra. By the time of his death, he had a good record for sold-out shows in the United States of America. Better still various songs topped Latin charts. 

8. Juan Gabriel faced a copyright dispute 

Mexican singer and composer Juan Gabriel by Viva Iquique from

Gabriel had a period where he refused to record at the BMG Entertainment Mexico label due to copyright. The case took almost eight-year to be resolved. Meanwhile, Gabriel stack with performance, setting attendance, and live stage performances. After the conflict was settled, he released his album called Gracias Por Esperar.

9. Gabriel Juan never married 

Juan Gabriel was never married but had six children.  He had a great relationship with the mother of the kids and considered them best friends.

10. He died of a heart attack

Gabriel Juan died on august 28 2016 due to a heart attack in Santa Monica California. He was cremated and his ashes returned to a house he owned in Ciudad Ju谩rez, Chihuahua. He received a tribute from Mexico City and an autopsy was never performed to determine the cause of death. 

Besides music production, songwriting, and singing, Gabriel Juan was involved in charity giving back to the community. His endeavors were successful having sold millions of copies of his albums. His legacy lives even today with some of his Latina-written songs considered among the best and most valuable in the modern day.