by Rich Wright
Juan Gabriel is the biggest star to ever come out of Juarez. For Mexican music, Juan Gabriel is Elvis and Prince and Elton John all put together. Juarez is justly proud of Juan Gabriel. There may be more pictures of Juan Gabriel in downtown Ciudad Juarez than there are representations of the Virgin Mary. (One time I got in trouble with a bartender at the Buen Tiempo for suggesting that.)
This week (and last week, sorry I dropped the ball) Juarez celebrates Juan Gabriel with the Juangabrielisimo, a two-week long street party that’s held mostly next the Museo Juan Gabriel, his old mansion on dieciseis.
Juan Gabriel is a Mexican gay icon. A megastar. His songs of lost love and longing are so full of soul and pathos that it hurts. He also wrote songs that reveled in Juarez and the border. Local lore claims he was practically homeless when he started, strolling bar to bar with a beat up guitar and a head full of songs. Singing for tips. Shaking up with Michi in the infamous Hotel Felix. Nobody ever said he was shoeless, but I think it adds to the story.
Would you rather have the truth or a good story?
And then bang. His song No Tengo Dinero topped the charts, an overnight success twenty years in the making.
He was a heartthrob. Great hair. Bottomless brown eyes. And a stage presence that he’d honed in a hundred hungry bars in downtown Juarez. Bang.
He wrote 1500 (maybe 1800) songs across all Mexican genres. Pop. Ranchera. Mariachi. A little musica romantica.
He died in 2016 on a day he was scheduled to perform at the Don Haskins Center.
Really, if I have to tell you who Juan Gabriel is, and his impact on Latin music, you need to get out more.
We’re more than halfway through this huge street party. Here are the remaining activities, as related to me by Google’s AI:
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
- 6:30 PM: Ballet Recuerdos presents “Viva Juan Gabriel”.
- 7:30 PM: Special ceremony honoring the artist at the “Recinto de los Juarenses Distinguidos” (Outside the Juan Gabriel Museum).
- 8:00 PM: “Intensamente con Juan Gabriel” Tropical Sonoras concert.
- 10:00 PM: “Dime cuándo tú” projection mapping light show. [1, 2]
Thursday, August 27, 2026
- 6:00 PM: “Charreada Juangabrielísima” rodeo and escaramuzas performance at the Lienzo Charro Adolfo López Mateos.
- 8:00 PM: “Ahora con Banda” sonorense brass band concert. [, 3]
Friday, August 28, 2026(10th Anniversary of Juan Gabriel’s Passing)
- 12:00 PM: Memorial mass at the Santuario de San Lorenzo (also streamed live online).
- 7:00 PM: “Triunfaré, legado SEMJASE” performance outside the Juan Gabriel Museum.
- 8:00 PM: “Amor Eterno” traditional serenade featuring Mariachi El Divo Alma de Juárez.
- 10:00 PM: “Dime cuándo tú” projection mapping light show. []
Saturday, August 29, 2026(Grand Finale)
- 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM: “Admirador de mis admiradores” fan club memorabilia exhibition at the Juan Gabriel Museum.
- 6:00 PM: Festival closing ceremony featuring various guest artists at the Plaza de la Mexicanidad.
- 8:00 PM: Grand finale tribute concert by regional music star Luis Antonio López “El Mimoso” at the Plaza de la Mexicanidad.
Juarez is a big cosmopolitan city with lots to offer. Juaritos, donde el ambiente rifa.
Read: Read More