Mexican music icon Joan Sebastian dead at 64; remembered in the Valley - Monitor

Born April 8, 1951, Jose Manuel Figueroa composed more than 35 albums in his career that stretched back to the 1970s. His debut song, “The Way of Love,” helped pave his way to prominence throughout Latin America and much of the United States —... Sebastian had been married to Edinburg native Erica Canales for more than a decade. After their divorce, she wed Edinburg attorney Terry Canales, a Democratic state representative. Erica Canales wept Monday evening as she recalled how she met Sebastian as a 17-year-old girl after one of his local performances in 1998. She told the story of how she had gone to his concert with her relatives, but was unfamiliar with his music. Erica had been in the front row that night with her relatives. After the performance, she unwittingly had been sitting next to one of Sebastian’s sons, who helped arrange a photo for a fellow fan with the musician. “I asked my sister, ‘Can you take her. ” Erica said. “My sister said ‘No, you take her. “I walked in. He noticed I had no emotion towards him or anything,” Erica said. Erica said she didn’t think much of the encounter. But as she turned around to leave, Sebastian’s brother asked her to give him her autograph. Erica said she still didn’t understand why Sebastian would want her autograph and tried to leave. Source: www.themonitor.com