Juan Gabriel: “El Divo de Juárez”
The late Juan Gabriel was never explicit about his sexuality. In contemporary terms, the late 66-year-old Juarez singer was never out.
But that never stopped him from taking a regaled place within the Hispanic gay community. Rather than wear the label of his sexuality, he left clear message of who he was as he did when asked as he was in an interview about the subject in 2003. The “Primer Impacto” reporter asked him the question point blank.
“¿A usted le interesa mucho? Te voy a responder con otra pregunta: “Dicen que lo que se ve… no se pregunta mijo”
In English: “Does this interest you that much?” “They say what is observed is not to asked about,” ‘El Divo de Juárez’ parried curtly to the interviewer.
Commenting on Juan Gabriel’s nuanced relationship with his status in the gay community, local fan and queer advocate Hugo Ximello Salido explained “No one wants to be in a box.”
Juan Gabriel was first and foremost a musician, Ximenllo Salido. The iconic ballads he penned in his 45-year-long career have become standard bearers of the Mexican music canon. Ximello Salido said he grew up a fan of Gabriel because of his mother. The singer’s appeal was cross generational and cross cultural: Juan Gabriel’s fans were old, young, religious, not, straight and gay.
Yet, Ximello Salido said he made no secret of his identity. In the interview as in the rest of his public statements on the matter, “he didn’t say yes or he didn’t say no,” Ximello Salido said. “But he never got married (to a woman) or did things like that to cover it up.”
Juan Gabriel died in Santa Monica, Cal., just days after his last performance in Los Angeles. He closed the concert telling to the crowd: “Felicidades a todas las personas que están orgullosas de ser lo que son.”
In English: “Congratulations to everyone who is proud to be who they are.”
For Ximello Salido as with other fans of the iconic singer, the message was unmistakable.
“He has always been an idol in the gay community. A queen, a diva,” he said. “No doubt about that.”
(Photo by Wikipedia, vivaiquique.com)
