HOLLYWOOD (CNS) — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Wednesday, Nov. 3, for versatile singing star Ana Gabriel, honoring a career that has included seven singles and three albums reaching the top of the Billboard Latin pop charts.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Latin entertainment news correspondent Jessica Maldonado and Henry Cardenas, CEO of the Cardenas Marketing Network, joined Gabriel in speaking at the ceremony.
“It is hard to put into words and express what the Hollywood star means to me,” Gabriel told City News Service. “There is a great sense of achievement, gratefulness, and accomplishment after many years of work, sacrifice, discipline and a promise made to my parents many years ago. It is a happy feeling deep in my heart.”
Singing in the mariachi, ranchero and pop genres and romantic ballads, Gabriel has released 28 studio albums, 19 compilation albums and three live albums, selling more than 40 million records worldwide.
Gabriel’s best-selling album is “Mi Mexico,” a ranchera-influenced, mariachi-backed pop album released in 1991, which included a tribute to Mexico’s most popular singer-songwriter, Juan Gabriel, and opened the doors to her career in Europe.
Gabriel is a 13-time winner at the Lo Nuestro Awards, which honor the best of Latin music, receiving its Excellence Award in 2006. Gabriel has received four Latin Grammy nominations and a Grammy nomination in 1990 for best Latin pop performance for “Quien como tu.”
Gabriel said she considers the highlight of her career “not to get to the top but to stay atop for 46-plus years.”
“I am fortunate to be an artist that has been able to move and evolve with the times,” Gabriel said.” However, it would not have been the same without the commitment to my fans — around the world, far and near — who have inherited my music from generation to generation.”