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Vicente Fernández, the cowboy crooner who became known arsenic El Rey, the king of Mexican ranchera music, performing accepted songs crossed Latin America and the United States with his operatic dependable and sprawling mariachi group, died Dec. 12 astatine a infirmary successful Guadalajara, Mexico. He was 81.
His decease was announced successful a station connected his Instagram leafage and wide reported by the Mexican press. After suffering a autumn astatine his ranch successful August, helium had been hospitalized for respective months and diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune upset that causes musculus weakness.
Mr. Fernández started retired singing for tips connected the streets of Guadalajara, a cradle of mariachi music, and roseate to go 1 of Mexico’s astir fashionable musicians, signaling dozens of albums that sold an estimated 50 cardinal copies. Backed by violins, horns and guitars, helium sang passionate rancheras, agrarian anthems astir cowboys, lovers’ quarrels, cockfighting and tequila.
“For Mexicans, it’s a medicine that lifts you erstwhile you’re down,” helium told the Dallas Morning News successful 1994, describing the genre’s power. “It cheers you. It’s not truthful overmuch astir reasoning arsenic it is astir feeling.”
Performing unrecorded and appearing successful astir 40 movies, Mr. Fernández cultivated an representation arsenic a charro, a accepted horseman, singing successful the saddle astatine times similar Gene Autry oregon Roy Rogers. He carried an engraved pistol and wore an embroidered sombrero and a suede, hand-stitched charro suit, which helium likened to “Mexico’s 2nd flag.” Putting connected the azygous earlier each concert, helium said, helium felt similar an ambassador for his country.
“As agelong arsenic you support applauding,” helium declared astatine the commencement of each show, referring to himself with a Spanish diminutive, “your Chente won’t halt singing.” He often performed for much than 3 hours, striding crossed the signifier arsenic women threw underwear astatine his feet and men passed bottles to him, offering him a swig betwixt songs.
New York Times euphony professional Jon Pareles erstwhile wrote that Mr. Fernández possessed “a vibrato that could registry connected the Richter scale.” But his howling tenor turned gentle during ballads, breaking into sobs arsenic helium sang astir heartbreak and longing. “I’m going to wander, I’ll effort to find immoderate peace,” helium declared successful “Ya Me Voy Para Siempre” (“I’m Leaving Forever”), “but if this wounded goes on, don’t beryllium amazed if a cantina becomes my home.”
His biggest hits included “Volver Volver” (“Go Back, Go Back”), astir a brokenhearted antheral dreaming of his erstwhile lover, and “Mujeres Divinas,” successful which helium sang of his emotion for “women, ohio women truthful divine.” He sang from experience, helium said, drafting from his matrimony and emotion affairs arsenic good arsenic his adolescence successful the countryside of occidental Mexico.
“There are different singers of ranchera euphony who sing precise beautifully,” helium told the Los Angeles Times, “but you tin archer from the mode they sing that they ne'er lived connected a ranch. They ne'er knew what it was to beverage a cow, to commencement a calf, to footwear a horse. I’ve lived each that.”
Mr. Fernández was portion of a philharmonic contented that stretched backmost to ranchera stars specified arsenic Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante and Javier Solís, who dominated Mexico’s euphony country successful the mediate of the 20th century. But each of those musicians died young — astatine 42, 39 and 34, respectively — and Mr. Fernández continued performing into his 70s, concluding a goodbye circuit astatine Latin America’s largest stadium, the Estadio Azteca successful Mexico City, successful 2016.
By then, helium had received 3 Grammy Awards and 8 Latin Grammys, and been inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame. He had besides collaborated with popular stars from Brazil and the United States, though helium refused to stray from the ranchera dependable that made him famous.
“Everybody who sings with maine has to sing ranchero,” helium told Billboard magazine. “Roberto Carlos had to sing ranchero, Vikki Carr had to record ranchero. Celia Cruz came successful with a mariachi. I judge signaling with everybody, arsenic agelong arsenic it’s with a mariachi.”
Vicente Fernández Gómez was calved successful Huentitán El Alto, connected the outskirts of Guadalajara, connected Feb. 17, 1940. His begetter was a rancher, his parent a homemaker. He near schoolhouse successful the 5th grade, won an amateur singing contention astatine 14 and began performing astatine weddings and restaurants. Around that aforesaid time, his father’s cattle concern collapsed, and the household moved northbound to Tijuana.
In his aboriginal 20s, helium performed successful Guadalajara and sang astatine a edifice successful Mexico City, trying repeatedly to onshore a grounds deal. Executives advised him to find a antithetic vocation — “Go merchantability peanuts oregon something,” 1 said — but came calling successful 1966, aft the decease of Solís, ranchero’s biggest star. Mr. Fernández signed aboriginal that twelvemonth with CBS México, which had rejected him doubly before.
He was soon going into the workplace for marathon sessions, signaling arsenic galore arsenic 30 songs a night. He besides became a prolific actor, appearing successful astatine slightest a movie a year, usually arsenic a singing cowboy. He retired from filmmaking successful 1991, seemingly having decided that helium was excessively aged for the screen. Over the adjacent decade, his sideburns and hairsbreadth turned white, successful striking opposition to his signature achromatic mustache and eyebrows.
Mr. Fernández maintained a devoted assemblage but alienated immoderate fans with his behaviour arsenic helium grew older. During a 2019 interview, helium said that aft being diagnosed with a cancerous tumor, helium had refused a liver transplant retired of interest that the donor mightiness beryllium a “homosexual oregon an addict.” A video aboriginal emerged showing him groping a woman’s bosom portion they posed for a picture, prompting him to contented an apology and accidental that helium had touched her accidentally.
In 1963, helium joined 1 of his Guadalajara neighbors, María del Refugio “Cuquita” Abarca Villaseñor. They had a daughter, Alejandra, and 3 sons: Gerardo, who worked arsenic his father’s manager; Alejandro, a Grammy-nominated singer; and Vicente Jr., who was abducted by kidnappers successful 1998. He was freed aft 4 months — during which 2 of his fingers were sliced disconnected — and the outgo of a reported $3.2 cardinal ransom.
Information connected survivors was not instantly available.
While his American tours typically went uncovered by the English-language press, Mr. Fernández received a prima connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame and sought to leverage his power astatine times successful enactment of U.S. politicians. He released a 2016 corrido, oregon people ballad, connected behalf of Democratic statesmanlike campaigner Hillary Clinton.
“When I travel to America, I consciousness similar I’m coming to sojourn family, to bring a reminder of location to those who can’t beryllium there,” helium told the Morning News. “I consciousness I person a work to transportation connected Mexican folklore and culture, and that’s my work to my audience, to beryllium that messenger.
“The connection goes retired to Anglos, too, and I cognize it reaches them, due to the fact that I spot much and much of them astatine my shows. Mexican civilization and contented needs to transverse borders, and wherever it takes me, I’ll beryllium there.”
English (US) ·