Let’s Go To - Noa Noa by Juan Gabriel

In 1980, Juan Gabriel released his album “Recuerdos” which contained the song “El Noa Noa.”

Who is Juan Gabriel?

Juan Gabriel was a singer and performer born in Michoacán, Mexico. He’s known for his mariachi music and also crossing into Latin pop. He was also known for breaking gender norms and becoming a queer icon for the Latinx community.

What is El “Noa Noa” about?

“Noa Noa”, or as I like to refer to “el noa noa” is about a magical place where you can let of your worries and have fun. While the short lyrics are pretty vague, there’s more to them if you look into Juan Gabriel’s life.

Noa Noa was a bar and dance hall in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico where Juan Gabriel got his start as a performer at the age of 16. His starting salary for performing at Noa Noa? $5.00 a day. You can learn more about Noa Noa bar here.

Today, if you were to visit El Noa Noa, you wouldn’t find a bar….you’d actually find a parking lot and a plaque on the ground that memorializes the location of the infamous bar. A YouTube vlogger took a trip to where Noa Noa used to reside. You can check it out below. It’s in Spanish.

While you can’t go to Ciudad Juarez and find the OG Noa Noa anymore, if you’re in L.A., you can find something really close.

Noa Noa Place is a LGBTQIA Latinx bar in the Boyle Heights area that is dedicated to the “divo de Juarez.” You can find all the goods there from aguas frescas cocktails and al pastor “piczaas” that are drool-worthy. It even has photo ops like this one which pays homage to Juan Gabriel’s legacy as a queer icon.

UGH! I’m ready to travel again and go to LA

Last Note

From listening to El Noa Noa, you can easily tell that this bar was Juan Gabriel’s happy place. What’s your happy place? And does it serve horchata cocktails?