‘It’s deeper than just mourning a celebrity’: Juan Gabriel fans pay tribute to the Mexican singer
*According to reports tens of thousands of fans visited the Palacio de Bellas Artes, in Mexico City, where Juan Gabriel’s ashes were taken. VL
By Cindy Carcamo, Los Angeles Times (4.5 minute read)
Nohely Chavez and Laura Tejeda never met Juan Gabriel, but the famed Mexican singer was an abiding voice in the lives of the two cousins from East Los Angeles.
For Tejeda, Juan Gabriel’s songs of heartache blared on the radio during long car trips, the dial tuned to KLOVE, a Spanish-language radio station. For Chavez, the crooner provided the soundtrack to weekend chores and her mother’s cooking.
“You’d fall asleep to his music and wake up to his music,” Chavez said.
When Juan Gabriel died suddenly last month at age 66 in Santa Monica — the day after he performed at the Forum in Inglewood — the two cousins grieved not only for his passing, but for the passage of time.
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“We’re mourning the memories that he represented,” Tejeda said. “It’s deeper than just mourning a celebrity. He represented a lot more.”
[Screenshot courtesy of The Los Angeles Times]
