Juan Gabriel’s first concert at the Palace of Fine Arts is coming to the big screen: ‘The cinema will become a giant karaoke bar’ (Exclusive)

Published by Billboard on Aug 18, 2026 12:30 PM

Juan Gabriel’s Iconic First Show at Palacio de Bellas Artes to Hit the Big Screen: ‘Movie Theaters Will Turn Into a Giant Karaoke’

Juan Gabriel: Mi Primer Bellas Artes premieres on Aug. 28 in theaters across Latin America and Spain, and on Sept. 15 in the U.S.

By Natalia Cano

The iconic concert that Juan Gabriel performed at Mexico‘s Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1990, which marked a milestone for the artist and Mexican popular culture, will soon be experienced, sung and danced to more intimately by his fans. Thanks to a recently restored and remastered edition of that historic performance, the show will hit cinemas across Latin America and Spain on Aug. 28, and U.S. theaters on Sept. 15, Billboard can exclusively announce.

The film Juan Gabriel: Mi Primer Bellas Artes, directed by Mexican filmmaker María José Cuevas and produced by Sony Music Vision, revisits the historic performances of the “Divo de Juárez” at Mexico’s most prestigious cultural venue in May 1990. Its U.S. premiere, distributed by Fathom Entertainment, will be hosted by the National Museum of Mexican Art with a community screening on Aug. 28 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, in Chicago. It will arrive in theaters in Colombia and Argentina starting Sept. 3.

Cuevas, who previously directed the Netflix documentary Juan Gabriel: Debo, Puedo y Quiero (2025), has reimagined and re-edited the film to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the legendary Mexican singer-songwriter’s passing. The film includes never-before-seen rehearsal footage sourced from Juan Gabriel’s personal archives.

Inducted into the Billboard Hall of Fame in 1996, Juan Gabriel built a legacy over more than four decades as a multifaceted artist, recording songs across diverse genres such as ranchera, ballads, pop and bolero, while also producing for other artists. Among his numerous achievements, he sold over 150 million records, wrote more than 1,800 songs, released 34 studio albums, earned six Grammy nominations, won three Latin Grammy Awards posthumously and landed more than 20 top 10 hits on the Billboard charts, including seven No. 1s on Hot Latin Songs. His song “Yo No Sé Qué Me Pasó” debuted at the top of the first-ever edition of that chart in 1986.

Juan Gabriel’s first concert at the Palace of Fine Arts is coming to the big screen: ‘The cinema will become a giant karaoke bar’ (Exclusive)