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Ana Gabriel

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Ana Gabriel
Ana Gabriel performing in 2006
Born
María Guadalupe Araujo Yong

(1955-12-10) December 10, 1955 (age 69)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Musical career
GenresLatin pop, Latin ballad, ranchera, mariachi, rock
Years active1984–present
LabelsSony International

María Guadalupe Araujo Yong (born December 10, 1955), better known as Ana Gabriel, is a Mexican singer and songwriter. During her long career, she has performed different genres of music (primarily Latin pop, Latin ballad and Ranchera) and has received several accolades. As a result, she has been called La Diva de América[1] and La Luna de América.[2]

As of 2013, Gabriel had released twenty studio albums, three live albums, and fifteen compilation albums. Three Gabriel albums reached number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums, and seven singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, including "Ay Amor", "Es Demasiado Tarde", and "Quién Como Tú". Her work earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award nomination, four Latin Grammy Award nominations, thirteen Lo Nuestro Awards, as well as awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; in 2006, she received the Excellence Award at the Lo Nuestro Awards.[3]

Early life

María Guadalupe Araujo Yong was born in Guamúchil, Sinaloa, Mexico on December 10, 1955. She did not receive formal training for singing and she credits her maternal grandfather Roberto Yong, an immigrant from China, for providing the only singing coaching she received.

She first sang on the stage at age six, singing "Regalo A Dios" by José Alfredo Jiménez. She moved to Tijuana, Baja California and studied accounting. At age 21, in 1977, she recorded her first song, titled "Compréndeme".

Career

In 1987, Ana Gabriel won third place at the OTI Festival, celebrated in Lisbon, Portugal, where she performed an orchestral version of the pop-power ballad song "Ay Amor", which later was released as a single in its album version; it climbed to the top position in Mexico, throughout Ibero-America and on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart for 14 consecutive weeks.[4]

In 1988 Gabriel released her first album, Tierra de Nadie, followed by Pecado Original in 1989, which met with some chart success. Her 1990 album Quién Como Tú made her a force within the Mexican music industry. Eight months later, her live album En Vivo showcased her powerful stage act and scored several hits: "Hice Bien Quererte", "Propuesta", and "Solamente una Vez".

Throughout the 1990s Gabriel released an album almost every year. A versatile singer, she showcased her talent as an interpreter of many different musical styles, from lambada to mariachi and romantic ballads to pop music. She also honed her skills as a songwriter and a producer, releasing Mi México, a ranchera-influenced, mariachi-backed pop album, in 1991. This unique blend of styles was also reflected in the songs, all written by Gabriel. Her lyrics described strong, active women involved in their love lives, counter to their passive, traditional depiction in older songs. The album also included a tribute to Mexico's most popular singer-songwriter, Juan Gabriel (no relation).

Gabriel scored a number-one hit with the duet "Cosas del Amor" in 1991, which she sang with Vikki Carr, a Mexican-American pop singer. The single earned Gabriel a Lo Nuestro Award for Song of the Year in 1992. At the same awards ceremony, Gabriel was also named Female Artist of the Year in the Regional Mexican category and Pop Female Artist of the Year; Mi México was named Regional Mexican Album of the Year. In 1993, Gabriel was awarded Best Pop Female Performer at the Lo Nuestro Awards.[5] The following year, she appeared as a guest artist on Plácido Domingo's Grammy-nominated[6] album, De Mi Alma Latina.[7]

In 1996 she released the pop-oriented Vivencias. She followed this with the traditional ranchera album Con un Mismo Corazón in 1997, an album she wrote and produced herself. Of particular interest is her title-track duet with Vicente Fernández, one of the most prolific and popular ranchera singers in Mexican history. Burr[who?] wrote of the duet, "The beauty here lies in the melding of two great voices—Gabriel's husky sensuality and Fernandez's powerful, understated expressions—set against a 25-piece symphony."[citation needed]

The logo that identifies Ana Gabriel in her career as a soloist.

Gabriel released another live album in 1998, En la Plaza de Toros México, a 30-track boxed set. That same year she traveled to Miami to work with the renowned producer Emilio Estefan, Jr., on her 1999 album Soy Como Soy. The result was a pop-influenced ranchera album that went gold in the Latin music market and helped Gabriel win the Ritmo Latino Music Award for Female Pop Artist of the Year in 2000.

With the release of Eternamente in 2000, Gabriel returned to mariachi love ballads, using only guitar as accompaniment. That same year she also appeared with other Mexican music icons in an Independence Day television special called Viva Mexico, a celebration of Mexican music and history. In 2001 Gabriel released Huelo a Soledad, once again balancing the traditional sounds of Eternamente with sophisticated pop songs, a cappella numbers, and dance tracks.

In 2002, Gabriel's platinum-selling album Sagitario was released. In that same year, she won the Billboard Latin Music Estrella Award in recognition of her contribution to the Latin music industry, performed at a tribute concert for Vicente Fernandez sponsored by the Latin Music Awards, and participated in the ninth annual Las Cruces International Mariachi Concert and Festival in New Mexico. In December of that year, she was scheduled to perform at the eleventh annual Christmas Mariachi Festival in Phoenix, Arizona, but was denied a work visa and refused entry into the United States.

In December 2014, singer Ana Gabriel told reporters on TV Azteca's Ventaneando program that in 2015 she would release her new recording project after seven years without releasing an album with unreleased songs. She performed at the 2014 Viña del Mar Festival, receiving the award for most popular artist along with the gold and silver seagulls and torches. In 2015, she received the Legend Award at the Hispanic Heritage Awards.[8] Two years later, she was inducted into the Latin American Songwriters Hall Of Fame.[9]

In 2017, Gabriel appeared in the multi award-winning documentary film The American Epic Sessions directed by Bernard MacMahon. In the film, Gabriel recorded live on the restored first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s.[10] She performed Lydia Mendoza's "Mal Hombre" accompanied by a large band featuring Omar Rodríguez-López and Van Dyke Parks.[11][12] Stephen Dalton in The Hollywood Reporter described her performance as "fantastic".[13]

Personal life

Gabriel identifies as asexual.[14][15]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Awards

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the United States. Ana Gabriel has received one nomination.[16]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1991 Quién como tú Best Latin Pop Performance Nominated

Latin Grammy Awards

The Latin Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in the United States. Gabriel has received four nominations.[17]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2005 Tradicional Best Ranchero Album Nominated
2006 Dos amores un amante Best Ranchero Album Nominated
"Sin Tu Amor" Best Regional/Mexican Song Nominated
2008 Arpegios de amor: Requiem por tres almas Best Female Pop Vocal Album Nominated

Lo Nuestro Awards

The Lo Nuestro Awards are awarded annually by television network Univision in the United States. Ana Gabriel has received thirteen awards from twenty-nine nominations.[5]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1989 Herself Best Pop Female Artist Nominated
1990 Tierra de Nadie Pop Album of the Year Won
"Simplemente Amigos" Pop Song of the Year Nominated
Herself Best Pop Female Artist Won
1991 Quién como tú Pop Album of the Year Won
Herself Best Pop Female Artist Won
"Es Demasiado Tarde" Pop Song of the Year Won
"Quién Como Tú" Pop Song of the Year Nominated
1992 En Vivo Pop Album of the Year Nominated
"Cosas del Amor" (with Vikki Carr) Pop Song of the Year Won
Mi México Regional/Mexican Album of the Year Won
Herself Best Pop Female Artist Won
Herself Best Regional/Mexican Female Artist Won
1993 Herself Best Pop Female Artist Won
"Evidencias" Pop Song of the Year Nominated
Herself Best Regional/Mexican Female Artist Nominated
1994 Luna Pop Album of the Year Nominated
Herself Best Pop Female Artist Nominated
1995 "Luna" Pop Song of the Year Nominated
Herself Best Pop Female Artist Nominated
Ayer y Hoy Regional/Mexican Album of the Year Nominated
Herself Best Regional/Mexican Female Artist Nominated
1996 Herself Best Regional/Mexican Female Artist Nominated
Joyas de dos siglos Regional/Mexican Album of the Year Nominated
1998 Herself Best Regional/Mexican Female Artist Nominated
Con un mismo corazón Regional/Mexican Album of the Year Nominated
1999 Herself Best Regional/Mexican Female Artist Won
2000 Herself Best Regional/Mexican Female Artist Won
2006 Herself Excellence Award Won

See also

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Catalina Maria (February 7, 2020). "Ana Gabriel lives up to the title 'La Diva de América'". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "Ana Gabriel". The Pavilion at the Irving Music Factory. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Ana Gabriel será Máxima Excelencia de Lo Nuestro" (in Spanish). terra.com. February 13, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  4. ^ "Ana Gabriel" (in Spanish). formulamexicana.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Lo Nuestro Awards:
    • 1989 Awards:Premio Lo Nuestro 1989 (Television). Miami, Florida, United States: Univision. 1989.
  6. ^ Lannert, John (January 21, 1995). "Latin Notas". Billboard: 36. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "De mi alma latina". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  8. ^ AP (September 18, 2015). "Ana Gabriel se alzó con el premio de la Herencia Hispana". El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  9. ^ Flores, Griselda (February 6, 2017). "Romeo Santos & Ana Gabriel Among 2017 Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "The Long-Lost, Rebuilt Recording Equipment That First Captured the Sound of America". WIRED. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  11. ^ "The Performers in 'The American Epic Sessions'". WTTW Chicago Public Media – Television and Interactive. June 6, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "American Epic Sessions song list" (PDF). Thirteen.org. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  13. ^ "'The American Epic Sessions': London Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  14. ^ "Ana Gabriel: "Soy asexual como los ángeles"". Diario Libre (in European Spanish). October 20, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Ana Gabriel dice: Soy asexual". Cuatro Poder (in Mexican Spanish).
  16. ^ Grammy Awards:
  17. ^ Latin Grammy Awards:

Bibliography

  • Lipsitz, George, Footsteps in the Dark: The Hidden Histories of Popular Music, U of Minnesota Press, 2007, ISBN 0-8166-5020-9