My Divo

Get in, we’re going clubbing in Juárez! It’s going to be glitzy, it’s going to be gritty. This is the nighttime scene that birthed Juan Gabriel. But like many cities, Juárez holds secrets. Maria uncovers a haunting secret about Juan Gabriel and, along the way, confronts a dark piece of the past in her own family. 

My Divo is an Apple Original podcast produced by Futuro Studios. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.

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For host Maria Garcia, Mexican megastar Juan Gabriel has always held a singular allure. He was a prolific composer and one of the world’s greatest showmen. There was a lightness and a bigness to him—a big queer exuberance. And now, as the first openly gay woman in her family line, Maria looks to Juan Gabriel as a key to reconcile her queerness with her Mexican heritage. 

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Maria looks for answers about Juan Gabriel at the National Archives of Mexico and discovers government files about the artist that have never come to light, including details about his encounters with police and the law. As Maria learns more about Juan Gabriel’s story as a young man on the streets and in jail, she reflects on her romantic relationship and what’s at stake when queerness is criminalized.

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It’s the mid-1980s and loving Juan Gabriel is like a religion. He reaches the highest levels of superstardom with the release of his hit “Querida.” Then an explosive book aimed at outing him as gay unleashes a media obsession that would go on for decades. But the divo doesn’t let the gossip shows make a spectacle of his sexuality. On stage, he is free. It’s that kind of freedom Maria seeks now as she wrestles with how to t...

Juan Gabriel sends shock waves across the highbrow art world by performing in Mexico’s Palacio de Bellas Artes. Cultural elites are not thrilled to have a “popular” music artist perform at this temple of opera and ballet. But when JuanGa emerges onstage during the concert wearing sequins and gold fringe, he sends a statement about what’s possible—and gives a legendary performance that’s ritually and religiously rewatched t...

JuanGa could get a little messy with politics. He had friends in high places, infamously hated paying taxes, and found himself in some cringey entanglements with powerful figures. But to understand JuanGa’s political life, Maria has to understand modern Mexico’s journey from an idealistic revolution to corruption and untangle the truth behind violent lore in her own family’s revolutionary history.

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Juan Gabriel is about to play the biggest concert in the U.S. in his career. But then, one by one, his divas all start backing out of the concert under pressure from Mexican TV titan Televisa. What unfolds is a story about an artist at odds with the most powerful media conglomerate in Latin America. In this episode, Maria passes the mic to producer Lili Ruiz, who tells us how JuanGa’s iconic Rose Bowl performance not only ...

In 2016, just before Juan Gabriel was set to play a show in El Paso, he unexpectedly passes away. News of his death shatters his fans and his city. People in Juárez come out to the streets to mourn, sing, dance, and cry together. JuanGa the artist was larger than life, and his legacy transcends across generations, borders, and genres. But there was also Alberto—the man who loved flowers and the sun.

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