Joan Sebastian

Joan Sebastian was born in the rural town of Juliantla in Guerrero. He began composing at the age of seven. His mother enrolled him in a school near Guanajuato when he was eight years old, and returned to his hometown three years later. At age fourteen, his father sent him away to a monastery in Morelos where he was under the care of Father David Salgado. Due to the clergyman's influence on Sebastian, he considered becoming a priest. He enrolled in the Seminario Conciliar de San José in Cuernavaca, Morelos, but realized that he wanted to pursue a music career, and decided to leave the seminary to dedicate himself to music. Before embarking on a singing career, Sebastian was an administrative assistant at a vacation resort in Oaxtepec, Morelos, where he would sing through the intercom. In 1968, Sebastian met Mexican actress Angelica Maria. They stayed together and she asked him to sing some songs for her. She suggested to Sebastian that he record the songs and give them to music producer Eduardo Magallanes, though Sebastian never managed to contact him. He later moved to Mexico City and began asking Discos Capitals Records to listen to his music and produce it. In 1974, he recorded his first album, Pedro Parrandas, and received positive feedback from the public. He adopted his stage name Joan Sebastian in 1977. He achieved fame during the 1980s with his songs that blended Latin pop, ranchera, and grupera music. He also recorded some country songs in Spanish. He composed more than 1,000 songs, including compositions for artists such as Bronco, Vicente Fernández, Lucero, Pepe Aguilar, and Rocío Dúrcal. He won seven Latin Grammy Awards and five Grammy Awards, making him the most awarded Mexican performer in Grammy history. He also worked sporadically as an actor, making his debut in the soap opera Tú y Yo in 1996, where he co-starred with his former wife Maribel Guardia. Sebastian was known for performing on horseback, often riding his steed in time to the music. He was nicknamed el rey del jaripeo (the king of Mexican rodeo). He had a turbulent personal life, with several marriages and eight children. Two of his sons were killed in separate incidents, in 2006 and 2010. He was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1999, and underwent several treatments over the years. He died on July 13, 2015, at his ranch in Teacalco, Guerrero. He was 64 years old. He was buried in his hometown of Juliantla, where thousands of fans paid their respects.