Fans bid farewell to singer Juan Gabriel at Mexico City wake

By Reuters

An urn containing the ashes of Juan Gabriel during his homage is seen beside flowers in the Bellas Artes Palace in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Thousands of fans have paid their final respects to singer Juan Gabriel in Mexico City, many traveling from across the country to bid farewell to the entertainer who died late last month from a heart attack at the age of 66.

Crowds lined up on Monday at Mexico City’s Palace of Fine Arts, filing past an urn holding Gabriel’s ashes.

“Juan Gabriel is not dead. Juan Gabriel continues on in the hearts of all Mexicans and we’re going to continue to remember him through his songs,” fan Juan Duran said.

Born in 1950 into a poor family in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, Gabriel, whose real name was Alberto Aguilera, rose to stardom, selling millions of albums internationally.

(Reporting By Reuters Television Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)