Vicente Fernández, Mexican musical icon, is dead at 81

Vicente Fernández, one of Mexico's most famous and revered musicians, died Sunday morning at a hospital in Jalisco state, he family said. He was 81. Fernández had been hospitalized since a bad fall in August, and his health took a turn for the worse in recent months.
Fernández, called "Chente" by fans, is known as one of the great performers of Mexico's traditional ranchera music. His hits include "El Rey," "Lástima Que Seas Ajena," and the wistful "Volver Volver," which was also popular with homesick Mexicans living in the U.S. and elsewhere outside their country. Fernández gave his farewell performance to 85,000 fans from around the world at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium in in April 2016.
Fernández's widow, María del Refugio Abarca Villaseñor, and children, grandchildren, and hundreds of relatives and friends gathered for a public farewell at his Los Tres Potrillos ranch outside Guadalajara Sunday night. The song "Mexico Lindo" began the public funeral, The Associated Press reports, and his iconic charro hat was placed atop his coffin on the flower-strewn stage as mariachis performed. Fernández's private burial will take place Monday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Musicians from Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin to George Strait paid their respects on social media, and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador celebrated Fernández a "a symbol of the ranchera music."
Vicente Fernández Gómez was born in 1940 in Huentitán El Alto, in Mexico's western Jalisco state. He spent most of his youth on his father's ranch. Fernández has sold more than 50 million records, appeared in more than 30 films, won three Grammys and nine Latin Grammys, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"It was an honor and a great pride to share with everyone a great musical career and give everything for the audience," the Fernández family said on his official Instagram account. "Thank you for continuing to applaud, thank you for continuing to sing." Along with his wife, Fernandez is survived by three children, including the performer Alejandro Fernández.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Pope Leo canonizes first millennial saint
Speed Read Two young Italians, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, were elevated to sainthood
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government building
Speed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82