Juan Gabriel obituary

Juan Gabriel, who has died of a heart attack aged 66, was a hugely successful Mexican pop star, with a remarkable rags-to-riches story that saw him become a hero across the Spanish-speaking world. A flamboyant performer and versatile songwriter, he was best known for his emotional ballads and often pained lyrics, though he also covered a variety of distinctively Mexican styles, from mariachi to ranchera and banda.

Gabriel never bothered to court English-speaking fans or followers of world music, simply because he had such a vast Latin following. But his final recording showed that he could have appealed to a wider audience. His Spanish-language treatment of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit Have You Ever Seen the Rain? appeared on the compilation album Quiero Creedence, released in July. It provided a reminder that he could have been an impressive rock performer, had he wished.

Two days before his death, he gave what was to be his final concert, in Inglewood, Los Angeles, during his MeXXico Es Todo (Mexico is everything) tour of the US. He was dressed, as ever, in extravagant stage clothes – he favoured sequin-covered outfits in bright colours – and backed by a well-drilled full mariachi band in large hats, playing guitars and brass, and by an orchestra. His show included many of his best-known songs, including Querida (Beloved), a slow, weepy ballad of lost love, which was a big hit in 1984, and other grand, tragic songs.

The youngest of 10 siblings, he was born Alberto Aguilera Valadez to Gabriel Aguilera Rodríguez and Victoria Valadez Ojas, poor farm workers who lived in Parácuaro, to the west of Mexico City. After his father was taken to a psychiatric hospital, his mother moved to the border town of Ciudad Juárez to work as a maid. But she could not afford to care for her children, so at the age of four Alberto was placed in an orphanage, where he remained for eight years, seeing his mother only once a year.

By the age of 14 he was selling food and trinkets in the street, but at the same time he started writing songs. He sang in local bars, and later travelled to Mexico City to try to break into the music business. There were times when he slept rough, and he was jailed for 18 months for stealing a guitar – a theft he insisted he did not commit.

He continued to sing and to write songs, and in 1971, when he was 21, his fortunes changed. He signed a recording contract and, under his new stage name, Juan Gabriel, notched up his first big hit, No Tengo Dinero (I Don’t Have Any Money), which appeared on his first album, El Alma Joven. It marked him out as different from other singers. Rather than bragging, he was expressing the problems of many ordinary Mexicans. He went on to record more than 60 albums, selling more than 100m worldwide, including Recuerdos, Vol II, which sold 8m copies and included Querida. Another of his emotional songs, Amor Eterno (Eternal Love), was a lament for his mother, who died in 1974, and was often played at funerals. He made his debut as an actor in the 1975 film Nobleza Ranchera.

Gabriel’s popularity continued for more than four decades, both because his often highly emotional songs appealed to Mexicans of all classes and regions and because he was a larger than life, hard-working live performer – an increasingly important skill in an era when record sales have declined but major artists can earn a fortune from stadium shows. His live shows included a 1990 appearance at the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City, which had previously staged only classical concerts. The event was recorded and led to yet another bestselling live album. In the US he performed at leading venues including Madison Square Garden, New York.

Gabriel was ranked at No 18 on Billboard’s 2015 Money Makers list, reportedly earning $11.6m from touring that year. He never forgot his painful childhood, and founded an orphanage in Ciudad Juárez and gave benefit concerts to aid children’s homes across Mexico.

Gabriel is survived by the four children, Ivan, Jean, Hans and Joan, he had with Laura Salas.