Weekend memorial planned for Juan Gabriel as body is cremated

A memorial service for Latin superstar Juan Gabriel will take place in his childhood home of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico this weekend (03-04Sep16).
The crooner, 66, passed away from a suspected heart attack in Santa Monica, California on Sunday morning (28Aug16), while in the middle of the U.S. leg of his MeXXico Es Todo Tour.
Unconfirmed reports previously suggested Gabriel’s body had been flown to Mexico on Monday (29Aug16), ahead of a planned funeral, but his family has since informed the country’s National Fine Arts Institute spokesman Roberto Perea that his remains have already been cremated, reports EFE.
Institute bosses had contacted the grieving relatives and offered to hold a memorial for the late icon.
In the meantime, Gabriel’s loved ones are organising a weekend remembrance service in the city of Ciudad Juarez, with plans for a big “public celebration” of the singer’s life and career “in the coming weeks”.
The news was shared in a post on the musician’s Facebook page on Tuesday night (30Aug16), when his children admitted they were having a “very difficult” time coming to terms with his “sudden and unexpected loss” and asked for privacy.
The statement concluded, “Thank you again for helping us through these difficult times. We have shared our father with the public our whole life. We just ask that we are given this time to mourn our tremendous loss and we thank you for respecting our family’s privacy during this time.”