As many as 3,000 local fans of Juan Gabriel paid tribute to the late recording star and composer Sunday evening in Boyle Heights.
Juan Gabriel professional imitator Juan Antonio Ortiz performed several of the best known hits by the man known to millions around the Spanish-speaking world as “El Divo de Juárez,” during the tribute held from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Mariachi Plaza. The program also included a special performance by Boyle Heights’ own Ballet Folklórico Resurrección.
The tribute was organized as part of the weekly Sunday market known as The Taste of Boyle Heights. Fans were encouraged to bring photos and candles for an altar in memory of Juan Gabriel, who died Aug. 28 in Santa Monica.
According to KMEX Univision 34, the Los Angeles Fire Department estimated the crowd at close to 3,000. Hundreds of thousands of fans paid tribute to Juan Gabriel this week at a massive memorial service in Ciudad Juárez, Jalisco –the border town where the artist began his career– and as many as a million attended a second memorial in Mexico City,
Here’s a link to the Univision 34 story.
