Juarez celebrates Juan Gabriel’s funeral and homecoming

It’s been a week since Mexican superstar Juan Gabriel died, the same day he was supposed to come back to the borderland for a concert at the Don Haskins. Juarez has been in mourning ever since.

Now, Juan Gabriel has come back home, his ashes were driven through El Paso Saturday and over to Juarez, his adopted hometown.

“He represents the essence of the city, someone humble who worked their way to the very top,” said one fan who was outside the singer’s 16 de Septiembre home.

Thousands showed up from the borderland and beyond, everyone singing along to his songs and paying their respects to El Divo de Jurez.

“We’re all here, happy to be at the funeral to say goodbye and to welcome him back home forever,” said another fan Saturday evening during the funeral.

Hours after the funeral Mass and concert the streets were mostly clear, but people kept visiting Sunday to drop off flowers and mourn the loss of the city’s favorite son.

“I don’t think anyone will ever be a Juan Gabriel again. The music he wrote, the feelings he had, I don’t think there’s going to be another Juan Gabriel in a long time,” said one fan visiting from Las Cruces, having spent the night in Juarez.

It’s at Juan Gabriel’s Juarez home, where his mother once worked as a maid and servant, that his ashes will be set, the house itself turning into a museum and mausoleum.

Juan Gabriel’s ashes were taken to the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City Sunday evening for a memorial service at the capital Monday. Tuesday they’ll be brought back to their final resting place: his house.