I hope to one day see him in concert.

In my case, Juanga carries more social and emotional freight with me, with all due respects to the Moz, largely because of how Juan was loved by my mother, aunt, and grandmother alike. And it was their admiration that took them dragging me along to the Million Dollar Theatre, at what was to be my first concert. I was four years old; I’ll never forget it. And as much as I would tell many people in my early adulthood that my first concert was a Nirvana show, for fear that they wouldn’t understand, it was actually Juan Gabriel’s performance that was my first. Even when I was four, I knew it was cool. Too bad I spent so much energy not allowing myself to admit it.

When I would visit my tia and cousins in Juarez, we would often stop and pay a visit to Juan Gabriel’s house and the Noa Noa before crossing back in to El Paso from a day out in Juarez. Though we would never catch a glimpse of the man, the music kept running through our minds and in the car stereo on our trips back and forth.

As for my favorite song, I can never get enough of “Yo No Naci Para Amar”. When he sings about loneliness, desperation, and being loveless, well, I have more than a sneaking suspicion that he’s singing his life into that track. And if he didn’t, he sure as hell could perform it.