On Tuesday, the Library of Congress announced its selections for the National Recording Registry, a preservation of recordings with “cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance to life in the United States.” One of the selections, nominated by Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX), is Juan Gabriel’s song “Amor Eterno,” part of Castro’s push to include recognition of Latino musicians in the registry.
Gabriel, a mainstay in the Latino arts community during his distinguished career, passed away in Santa Monica in August 2016 at the age of 66. Over 40 years of songwriting, including the iconic ballad “Amor Eterno”, has landed Gabriel into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame and the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.
In a Tuesday statement, Castro said that this past fall, his office “received a record-setting number of public suggestions for Latino songs that spanned styles and eras,” with “Amor Eterno” playing a heartbreaking yet pivotal role in his home state of Texas. The ballad was played at funerals and memorials following an August 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, which killed 23 people and injured 22 others. The shooting has been characterized as the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern United States history.
“[This] announcement represents the Library of Congress’ growing recognition that music by Latino musicians has shaped the soundtrack of American life … I was proud to nominate titles that represent the diversity of Latino music and sound,” Castro stated.
National Recording Preservation Board Program Coordinator Steve Leggett added that the 2024 registry selections, also including Héctor Lavoe’s classic El Cantante, help highlight “the richness of America’s cultural diversity.”
“We make a special effort each year to locate and recognize seminal works by women and persons of color, as they have too often been ignored,” Leggett told the Daily Press. “This year’s quest for such treasures produced [“Amor Eterno”], an unforgettable song from a key Latino artist with a message all Americans instantly recognize: the bond between mother and son.”
Gabriel wrote the song about the loss of his mother, something Library of Congress spokesperson Maria Peña said is “a pain that a lot of people can relate to.”
“This heartrending ballad has become a staple in Mexico, throughout Latin America and among many Latino families in our country,” Peña told the Daily Press.
The Latin music mainstay’s son, Ivan Gabriel Aguilera, told the Library of Congress that his father would be “thrilled” with the induction, saying that the selection “immortalized” Gabriel’s work.
“I believe that future generations — that’s what he always wanted — that they see his music and make it relatable to their lives as well,” Aguilera said in translation from Spanish. “He would always say that ‘as long as the public, people, keep singing my music, Juan Gabriel will never die,’ and it’s nice to see that happening here.”
Other selections for the 2024 National Recording Registry include the Bill Withers classic Ain’t No Sunshine, Green Day’s 1994 album Dookie and The Notorious BIG’s hip-hop altering album Ready to Die. For more information about the selections, visit loc.gov