MANY of the songs—and there were more than 1,500 of them—were syrupy and sentimental, some more sobbed than sung. Juan Gabriel was not David Bowie. But his death on August 28th has brought forth a similar outbreak of mass mourning. Mexico’s greatest modern pop singer stirred the hearts of millions across the Spanish-speaking world, including that large bit of it that resides north of the Rio Grande. His meaning was deeper and more disturbing than some of his songs might suggest.
Part of his appeal lay in his personal history. Alberto Aguilera knew all about the solitude and the loss of love of which he sang as Juan Gabriel (his stage name). He was the youngest of ten children. His parents were farm workers in the western state of Michoacán. When he was four, his father was admitted to a mental hospital. His mother moved the family to Ciudad Juárez, on the border with the United States. Unable to cope, she soon placed Alberto in an orphanage. That traumatic event marked him: his mother became the impossible Amor eterno of one of his biggest hits; in later life he gave generously to children’s homes.
He began to write songs while selling tortillas on the streets of Juárez. As a...Continue reading
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