Juan Gabriel’s last video performance
BY TROY MASTERS | Juan Gabriel, the eccentric Mexican singer-songwriter, has died of an apparent heart-attack in Santa Monica. He was 66 years old.
Gabriel was Mexico’s leading singer-songwriter and top-selling musical artist, selling more than 100 million albums.
He sang passionately about love and heartbreak and his bouncy mariachi tunes became anthems of love, passion and pride throughout the Spanish speaking world.
He was always flamboyant and loved sequins and hot pink outfits made of silk, draping in turquoise blue or blaring yellow. He had an affinity for capes and loved to bounce and twirl around the stage.
Often called the “Mexican Elton John,” he was shy about revealing details of his private life and laughed off rumors that he was gay, famously telling a Univision reporter who asked “lo que se ve, no se pregunta” (“don’t ask about something that is obvious”).
Last year a video surfaced that allegedly showed the singer in an intimate setting with another man. In the video he rolled around the bed and the person filming it could be heard saying “Don’t make those ugly faces pa.” “Everyone is listening to you, you will not be able to show this,” the alleged Gabriel replies.
The Latin Times wrote: “Everything points to someone trying to blackmail the “Abrázame Muy Fuerte” singer and take him out of the closet. His sexuality has been a topic of question over his career, but he has never admitted it publicly. Although rumors around this side of him are persistent, fans and the media have grown to accept it as he is one of the biggest Mexican songwriters consistently topping charts and writing successful lyrics to other artists. The video is part of his private life and seems to have been taken years ago as he looks much younger. Juan Gabriel has nothing to be ashamed about and most like why he decided to release it himself.”
