Mexico lost its most influential musician in 2016. With over 1,000 songs to his credit, Juan Gabriel was his nation’s prince of pop and champion of traditional music. Los Angeles Times remembered the beloved singer who “wooed crowds on both sides of the border with ballads of love and heartbreak.”

Aida Cuevas, “Queen of Ranchera,” sang at his memorial as the nation mourned his loss. At The Soraya, the U.S. premiere of her recent tribute album, Totalmente Juan Gabriel, Vol. II, pays tribute to their friendship with a full orchestra — our very own CSUN Symphony — as well as the Mexico City-based mariachi band, Mariachi Juvenil Tecalitlán.