My Divo

I grew up with the magnificent Juan Gabriel. His contribution to Latino culture (if there is such a thing) is incalculable. My grandmother’s favorite song was Amor Eternal. We played it at her funeral. Mine is Asi Fun. I love the way Maria weaves her own story and the story of Juan Gabriel together. I too am queer. Thanks to this podcast I appreciate Juan Gabriel more than ever. This is a beautiful podcast. I enjoyed it immensely. I do wish she had not referred to Juan Gabriel as "Juanga." Growing up I only heard him called Juanga as a pejorative to emphasize and make fun of his homosexuality. Maria, why do you call him Juanga?. I really want to know.

I shared this series with friends and family. As a child of a Mexican immigrant not raised close to extended family and near Mexican culture, I missed out on learning about many things. But thankfully I was able to grow up listening to Juan Gabriel because of my mom. I loved learning about his life, growing in understanding and connection to the culture.

Overly dramatic and scandalizing about things that could be told more directly. I like the interweaving of narratives - but my god, how many times do you have to do a build up the story by saying this toootally changes the way we see something?

I absolutely loved this podcast. I listened to it because Juanga was a big part of my upbringing and my adult life. What I got out of this podcast was so much more than just learning about his life but how meaningful his life was/is to so many Latines. It touches on culture, identity, belonging, classism, assimilation, humanity. I cried multiple times throughout and also laughed and smiled throughout. I found it healing in an unexpected way. So grateful I stumbled across this podcast