Mexican singer Juan Gabriel performs at the 10th annual Latin Grammy awards in Las Vegas, Nevada in this November 5, 2009 file picture.
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The press office for Mexican superstar Gabriel says the singer has died at age 66.
With more than 1,000 gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums to his credit, Gabriel had the attack at his home in Santa Monica, Televisa said.
Juan Gabriel, whose real name is Alberto Aguilera Valadez, performed at The Forum in Los Angeles Friday.
Editor’s note: Share your thoughts, memories and photos of Juan Gabriel on Twitter using #cnnireport.
The tweet also said Gabriel’s music was a legacy to the entire world. “He has left us too soon”. He was also well-known for his musical films, and for his work as a music producer. His hit “Querida” (“Dear”) topped Mexico’s charts for a whole year. “So I exploited the only thing I knew, which was singing and songwriting”, he told the L.A. Times. “In 1990, Juan Gabriel became the only non-classical singer/songwriter to perform at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and the album release of that concert, ‘Juan Gabriel En Vivo Desde El Palacio De Bellas Artes, ‘ broke sales records and established his iconic status”. There he met his mentor, Juan Contreras, according to the AP. While trying to break into the music business, he moved to Mexico City and slept on the streets and in train stations, the Los Angeles Times reports. The teenager ended up in jail, accused of robbery, but the jail director and his wife helped free him.
Artists across Latin America and in the United States covered many of his songs, including Paul Anka and Marc Anthony, who broke into the salsa music world in the US with Juan Gabriel’s “Hasta Que Te Conoci”. He signed his first record contract in 1971.
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“I’m not married; I don’t ever plan to marry”. “I think every Latino household has had the memory of waking up to Juan Gabriel music blasting at least once”, wrote another fan.
