Vicente Fernández

Singer and actor Vicente Fernández was one of Mexico’s most recognizable and influential cultural figures. Known across Latin America as “The King of Ranchera,” his smooth, bittersweet tenor instrument related songs of philandering caballeros, corrupt politicians, and the joys and perils of love and rural life among everyday people. Adorned by a supersized sombrero and eye-popping costumes, and accompanied by a mariachi orchestra in glittering matching outfits, Fernández’s visual appearance matched his romantically operatic voice. He garnered dozens of hits on Latin and Mexican Regional music charts, sold out concerts across the Americas and Europe, won countless industry prizes, and sold more than 70 million albums during his lifetime. Beginning in the mid-’60s, Fernández’s popularity at home was likened to Frank Sinatra’s and Elvis Presley’s in the U.S. His finest albums include his 1968 breakthrough El Remedio and 1974′s El Hijo del Pueblo — the latter netted four Top Five singles. His 1972 international hit single “Volver Volver” has been covered internationally by popular singers who include Chavela Vargas, Nana Mouskouri, and Ry Cooder. 1991′s El Charro Mexicano registered on charts across Latin America and in the United States. The global reception to 2011′s chart-topping, award-winning Otra Vez revealed Fernandez as one of the world’s most celebrated song stylists. Though he retired from touring, he continued to record. A month before his passing at age 81, he won a Latin Grammy for the 2021 studio album A Mis 80s.
Vicente Fernández Gomez was born February 17, 1940 in Huentitan el Alto, Guadalajara, Mexico. His youth was marked by struggle. Forced to drop out of school in the fifth grade to help support his family, he held a number of odd jobs. He began to sing and play guitar at age eight and won amateur contests almost from the start. Fernández lore claims that he would go to Guadalajara, where he would stop cars and offer to sing for drivers for a few pesos. By the early ’60s, he had turned semi-professional, singing with local mariachi bands. Moving to Mexico City, he joined Pepe Mendoza’s band, Amanecer, and then the band led by José Luis Aguilar.
In Mexico City, Fernández was regularly rejected by record labels, but he was finally noticed by CBS Mexico in 1966. His career did not take off quickly. Although he managed to sell modest quantities of albums and singles, he also acted in Mexican films (he was in more than 25). In time, he logged such hit singles as “Tu Camino y el Mio” and “Cantina del Barrio,” but it wasn’t until 1976, ten years into his recording career, that Fernández truly began his ascent to the top. “Volver, Volver,” a ranchera written by Fernando Z. Maldonado, became a massive hit, its lyrics of forgiveness in a relationship touching a nerve among listeners. The song established Fernández not only in his home country, but in other Spanish-speaking populations, including the millions of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. Many Mexican music groups cover the song when they perform live.
From that point on, Fernández could seemingly do no wrong. His every single and album was a hit, and the public adored him. He became the first performer to sell out Mexico’s Plaza de Toros bullfighting stadium, singing to over 50,000 fans. In the U.S., he sold out such large-capacity venues as New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he once shared a bill with his son, Alejandro Fernández, himself a major singing star. Vicente Fernández, Jr., one of the star’s other sons, is also a well-known singer. In 2005, Fernández opened a covered rodeo arena on his ranch outside of Guadalajara. He named it after himself and released the multi-platinum-selling La Tragedia del Vaquero in 2006.
After marathon sessions with producer Joan Sebastian (who wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the set with Miguel Trujillo), Fernandez released his 79th album, Para Siempre, in 2007. It would net him five charting singles and hit the top spot on the Mexican and Latin albums charts, as well as Mexico’s pop chart. It sold over two million copies globally, and became the best-selling Regional Mexican album in the U.S. during the new century’s first decade.
Fernandez, then in his late sixties, went on a Latin Grammy tear beginning with 2009′s Primera Fila, followed by 2010′s Necesito de Ti, which also won the Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Album. In addition, Latin Grammy wins continued for 2011′s El Hombre Que Más Te Amó and 2013′s Hoy. He was nominated for 2014′s Mano a Mano: Tangos a la Manera de Vicente Fernández, a change-up album that featured the singer and an all-star band of mariachi musicians performing classic Argentinian songs.
In July of 2015, the 75-year-old Fernandez issued the pre-release single “No Vuelvas por Favor.” It debuted in the Top 20 on the Mexican Regional Songs chart and was followed by the album Muriendo de Amor in October. The following year, Fernandez bid fans farewell with a final concert performance at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. The show was recorded for a double-disc album and DVD, which arrived in late 2016. Un Azteca en el Azteca, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 featured all his classic hits, including “El Rey” and “Volver, Volver.” While he may have retired from performing, Fernandez continued to record new material, releasing the Grammy-winning live outing, Un Azteca en el Azteca, Vol. 1 (En Vivo) in 2017, and 2018′s Más Romántico Que Nunca, a collection of nine boleros and three rancheras, in 2018. He released his final studio album, A Mis 80s in November 2020. A year later it took home the Latin Grammy for Best Ranchera album.
In August 2021, Fernandez suffered a bad fall at his home in Guadalajara and was hospitalized with a serious spinal injury. While in treatment, he was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome, a disease of the immune system that causes muscle weakness. In late November, he contracted pneumonia, and complications from his health maladies led to his death on December 12, 2021. He was 81 years old. A day-long memorial was held in his hometown of Guadalajara at the filled-to-capacity Arena VFG (named for the singer), featuring many peers and other musicians Fernadez had influenced.~ Jeff Tamarkin