On Sunday, September 28th Juan Gabriel died in a hospital located in Santa Monica. When one of my friends posted "RIP Juan Gabriel" on snap chat I could not believe it because the media was not talking about it and I just did not want to come to the conclusion that he died.
It was not until hours later that it was confirmed and sure enough he was dead. I know, I now realize that if you are not Latinx or grew up surrounded by Latinx people you probably are wondering who Juan Gabriel is.
Well Juan Gabriel was a singer and a composer who wrote about 1,200 songs. I will not write his biography however, you can look him up. I will tell you that I as well as other Latinos are mourning his lost. The majority of his songs were about love.
Some of us Latinos grew up knowing about him because his songs were played at home, at parties, and they were the theme songs to some novelas. Little kids, teenagers, and adults all knew at least one of his songs. He is dead and it feels as if he took away something from me and maybe others feel like that as well.
At a young age, I began singing his songs with passion as if I knew what it felt to be in love with that special someone. My favorite song that I sang is called "No Tengo Dinero (I've Got No Money)" . This song taught me about finding someone that would be okay with loving me even if I'm not as rich as them. At a young age I told myself that money should not be the factor in finding that special someone. It was all thanks to this beloved singer.
Since his songs were played at parties, at my house, and I will listen to my mom sing his songs I learned through there that when loved hit me it would hit hard. Each song prepared me for my heart breaks. His songs also reminded me that I will not be alone. It helped me cope with rejections and heartbreaks because listening to each of his songs and seeing him pouring his heart out was a reminder that I am not and will not be alone.
Juan Gabriel died and as much as it hurts he will always be in the heart of the Latinos. His songs will still be heard at parties, at 2am while being drunk and crying about that person that broke our hearts, he will be heard when we start falling for that special human being, and when we lose someone special like him.
May you rest in peace and thank you for such beautiful songs and an amazing childhood experience.
