A decade after his death, Billboard celebrates Gabriel's greatest hits of all time. From heartbreak anthems to pop gems and mariachi classics, see which song takes the No.
A decade after his death, Juan Gabriel’s light still feels impossible to dim. The Mexican singer-songwriter, born Alberto Aguilera Valadez and forever known as the Divo de Juárez, was a once-in-a-generation artist whose work was as emotionally direct as it was grandly theatrical.
He could turn a hushed confession into a full-scale melodrama, then punctuate it with a mariachi crescendo, a soaring vocal run or a defiant hip shake that brought an arena to its feet.
In his rhinestone-studded jackets, glittering suits and flowing shirts, Juan Gabriel did not simply command a stage — he transformed it into a place where heartbreak, liberation, joy and spectacle could all coexist.
His impact, of course, stretches far beyond his own extraordinary recordings. A prolific composer who wrote an expansive catalog of songs, Juanga supplied classics to some of the most celebrated voices in Spanish-language music, including Rocío Dúrcal, Isabel Pantoja, Lucha Villa and Ana Gabriel.
His songs made room for the complicated dimensions of love: devotion and betrayal, loneliness and desire, tenderness and fury. Whether delivered with intimate restraint or a todo pulmón, his writing made emotional excess feel not only validated but transcendent.
That gift made him both a chart force and a permanent pop-cultural reference point. “Te Sigo Amando” and “Abrázame Muy Fuerte” each reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, while hits such as “Hasta Que Te Conocí,” “Querida” and “Amor Eterno” have endured as essential standards in Latin music.
His legacy continues to surface everywhere — from social-media trends and soccer celebrations (including the viral resurgence of “Así Fue” ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup) to the voices of new generations of artists embracing his genre-fluid songwriting, unabashed sentimentality and fearless self-expression.
To mark the 10th anniversary of his death on Aug. 28, Billboard Latin and Billboard Español staff revisits the tracks that best illuminate Juan Gabriel’s towering genius.
From devastating ballads to mariachi-fueled anthems and irresistible pop gems, these are El Divo de Juárez’s 20 Best Songs of All Time, ranked.
Composed by Juan Gabriel for Rocío Durcal’s seventh studio album, Canta a Juan Gabriel, Volumen 1, in 1977, the romantic ballad “Fue Un Placer Conocerte,” gained immediate popularity after the pair performed the song live a year later — launching a fruitful run of collaborations built on years of friendship.
Durcal’s soaring vocals with Juan Gabriel’s serene delivery turned the ranchera into a signature collaboration, and years later their first joint top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, reaching No.
10 in 1992. The album had already made history for Durcal, who nearly reached the top of the Top Latin Pop Albums chart — landing at No. 2, becoming her first chart visit, in 1985.
Fontes
Informação baseada em material público de Billboard, reescrito pela redação ULTRA NOTÍCIAS.
