Juan Gabriel before he was famous
He slept in bus stations. Then he filled arenas.
1950: Born Alberto Aguilera Valadez
In 1950, in Paracuaro, Michoacan, a boy is born with the name Alberto Aguilera Valadez. Nobody in this small Mexican town has any idea that the name the world will remember is a different one entirely.
Was born Alberto Aguilera Valadez in Paracuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. Source
1950s: Youngest of ten children
He arrives as the youngest of ten children. In a household that big, a small voice has to work hard to be heard.
Was the youngest of ten children. Source
Childhood: Eight years at boarding school
Childhood takes him hundreds of miles north, to the El Tribunal boarding school in Ciudad Juarez. He spends eight years inside its walls, far from the town where he was born.
Spent eight years at the El Tribunal boarding school in Ciudad Juarez. Source
Late 1950s-early 1960s: Mentored by teacher Juan Contreras
At El Tribunal he meets a teacher named Juan Contreras. Contreras becomes one of the most important early music mentors in his life, the man who opens the door to everything that follows.
Met teacher Juan Contreras at El Tribunal, who became one of his most important early music mentors. Source
1963: Writes first song at 13
At thirteen, he writes his very first song. A boy with a notebook, discovering that feelings can be shaped into melody.
Composed his first song at age 13. Source
1964: Returns home, joins church
At fourteen he returns to live with his mother, and gets involved with a local Methodist church. Singing in that congregation gives his voice a place to grow.
Returned to live with his mother at age 14 and became involved with a local Methodist church. Source
1970: Singing in Juarez bars
By 1970 he's singing for money in Ciudad Juarez, but he walks away from a job where he feels underpaid. Instead he takes his songs into the bars of Juarez, night after night, playing for whoever will listen.
Performed in Juarez bars after leaving a singing job where he felt underpaid. Source
1971: Sleeping in bus stations
In 1971 he goes back to Mexico City with no money at all. On the hardest nights, the bus and train stations are where he sleeps.
Returned to Mexico City without money and often slept in bus or train stations. Source
Early 1970s: Wrongly jailed, keeps writing songs
Then comes the cruelest turn: he's wrongly jailed in the Palacio de Lecumberri. Even there, he keeps writing songs, and those songs catch the attention of prison officials and win him supporters on the outside.
Was wrongly jailed in Palacio de Lecumberri, where songs he wrote attracted the attention of prison officials and supporters. Source