José Manuel Figueroa Sr. (April 8, 1951 – July 13, 2015), known professionally as Joan Sebastian (), was a Mexican singer and songwriter. Born in Juliantla,

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

, he composed more than 1,000 songs, including compositions for artists such as

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

Vicente Fernández Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican mariachi singer, actor and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México" (Th ...

, Lucero,

Pepe Aguilar José Antonio Aguilar Jiménez (born 7 August 1968), better known as Pepe Aguilar, is a Mexican singer. - Accessed on June 17, 2011. From a young age, Aguilar accompanied his parents, singer-actors Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre on tour ...

, and

Rocío Dúrcal María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress with a career spanning more than four decades. She performed pop music, bolero, mariachi and romanti ...

. The first several years of his career were primarily focused on

Soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

and

Latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

songs, but later focused primarily on

regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

music, specifically

banda Banda may refer to: People * Banda (surname) * Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician * Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor * Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician *Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh ...

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

, and norteño. Throughout his career, he also recorded various

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

songs in Spanish. Sebastian was awarded seven

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

and five

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s, making him the most awarded Mexican performer in Grammy history. Known for composing "Así es la Vida", Sebastian also worked sporadically as an actor. In 1996, he made his acting debut in the Mexican soap opera '' Tú y Yo'' (''You and I''), sharing credits with

Maribel Guardia Maribel Guardia (; born Maribel Del Rocío Fernández García on May 29, 1959) is a Costa Rica and Mexican actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She was the winner of Miss Costa Rica 1978 and a contestant in Miss Universe 1978. Miss Univers ...

, his former wife and mother to his son, Julian. In 2015, Sebastian died at the age of 64 of bone cancer. At the time of his death, Sebastian had two number-one albums on the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums chart and seven top ten songs on the

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin music, Latin songs, published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart ranki ...

chart in the United States, including "Eso Y Más", "Me Gustas", " Secreto de Amor", and "Más Allá del Sol".

Early life

Joan Sebastian was born in the rural town of Juliantla in

. He began composing at the age of seven. His mother enrolled him in a school near

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

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 Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

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 Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerican civilization. Olmec works of art, currently displa ...

, but realized that he wanted to pursue a music career, and decided to leave the seminary to dedicate himself to music.

Career

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 ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Sápmi, and Greenland. They grow to ...

. 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 Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

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. In 1977, Sebastian decided to stop using his legal name, Jose Manuel Figueroa and took on his artistic name, Joan Sebastian, partly in tribute to San Sebastian, where he previously worked. That same year, he signed a record deal with the label Musart. Later on he would make his known hit "Juliantla" and the famous duet "Maracas" with Alberto Vazquéz. In 2000, he released '' Secreto de Amor'' which was certified 4× platinum in the Latin field in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). The album and title track won the

Lo Nuestro Awards The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music (genre), Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in ...

for Regional Mexican Album of the Year and Regional Mexican Song of the Year; he also received the Excellence Award for his musical contributions. Joan Sebastian Pepsi Center 2

In 2006, Sebastian was inducted into the ''Billboard'' Latin Music Hall of Fame for his prolific songwriting and musical arrangements. Sebastian was awarded Songwriter of the Year three times by

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

and received the Golden Note Award in 2007 in recognition of his songwriting career. In 2012, Joan Sebastian teamed up with American songwriter and producer

Will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

for the song and video "Hey You."

Personal life

Sebastian had eight children from five different women. Their names are José Manuel Figueroa González (who is also a singer and songwriter), Juan Sebastián Figueroa González, Trigo de Jesús Figueroa González (first three children with Teresa González, his first wife), Zarelea Figueroa Ocampo (who is also a singer and songwriter), Julián Figueroa Fernández (son of

, also a singer), Joana Marcelia Figueroa Espín, Juliana Joeri Figueroa Alonso and D'Yavé Figueroa Espín. His third oldest son, Trigo, was shot in the back of the head after one of his father's concerts in

Mission, Texas Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, in the US state of Texas, United States. The population was 85,778 at the 2020 census and an estimated 86,635 in 2022. Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan ...

, on August 27, 2006. Trigo had been trying to control the crowd after the show. He was transported to

McAllen McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, across ...

Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. On June 12, 2010, his second oldest son, Juan Sebastián was shot dead in

, after arriving at a night club with some friends and being refused entrance. Joan Sebastian said his son's death had nothing to do with the Mexican drug cartels. A few months after his death,

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

announced that a series about his life would begin filming. His youngest son, Julian Figueroa, portrayed his father in his younger days, while his older son, José Manuel Figueroa, portrayed his father in his later days.

Livia Brito Livia Brito Pestana (born 21 July 1986) is a Cuban Mexicans, Cuban-Mexicans, Mexican actress and model best known for her intense performances in telenovelas. She gained recognition for her portrayal of Fernanda Linares, the lead character on t ...

was also confirmed to portray Maribel Guardia. The series ''

Por Siempre Joan Sebastian ''Por Siempre Joan Sebastian'' (English title: ''Forever Joan Sebastian'') is a biographical miniseries about the late Mexican singer Joan Sebastian, who is portrayed by his two sons; José Manuel Figueroa (as an adult) and Julián Figueroa (as a ...

'' premiered on June 27, 2016 on Univision and concluded on July 25, 2016.

Illness and death

Sebastian was first diagnosed with

bone cancer A bone tumor is an neoplastic, abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as benign, noncancerous (benign) or malignant, cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body su ...

in 1999. He underwent cancer treatment and survived; however, he announced that the cancer had returned in 2007. Undergoing cancer treatment once again, he later announced he was in remission. On July 26, 2012, during one of his concerts, he announced that the cancer had returned for the third time. In 2014, he revealed that he was battling cancer for the fourth time during his performances in

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

. Weeks prior to his death, he confirmed to the media that he had been hospitalized and undergoing cancer treatment under medical supervision. On July 13, 2015, Joan Sebastian died at 7:15pm (UTC-06:00) at his ranch Cruz de la Sierra, Teacalco Guerrero, Mexico, due to bone cancer. He was 64 years old. His body was buried in a cemetery in Juliantla near his son Trigo. Relatives of the late singer complained in July 2020 that Sebastian's mausoleum had been broken into and the family feared that his remains might be stolen. Security measures were increased.

Discography

Sebastian recorded the following studio albums during his music career:

Studio albums

Awards and nominations

References

External links

www.joansebastian.com OFFICIAL website

Discography at Starpulse.com

Biography at Chalino.com

Joan's Online Memorial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastian, Joan 1951 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Mexican male singers 20th-century Mexican songwriters 21st-century Mexican male singers 21st-century Mexican songwriters Banda musicians Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in Mexico Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music record producers Latin music songwriters Mexican male singer-songwriters Mexican record producers Mexican singer-songwriters Ranchera singers Regional Mexican musicians Singers from Guerrero Universal Music Latin Entertainment artists Writers from Guerrero