LOS ANGELES — He’s a national icon, on a scale perhaps even bigger than that of Frank Sinatra to the U.S. or Cliff Richard to Great Britain. From classic ballads including “Volver, Volver” to “Por Tu Maldito Amor,” Vicente Fernandez is perhaps the most iconic of all Mexican recording artists, with popularity spanning generations across Latin America and in U.S. communities with Hispanics of Mexican heritage.
Fernandez died on Sunday (12/12) at 6:15am local time, at a hospital in Guadalajara. He was 81 years old. News of his passing was first shared on his Instagram account, which had previously offered health updates after a recent fall in his home, which required an operation and injured his cervical spine; some 1.93 million likes have been made to the posting.
Within minutes, radio stations in Los Angeles and across the U.S. raced to scrap programming and devote their airwaves to Fernandez — recognizable to non-Hispanics perhaps for his trademark oversized sombrero.
Fernandez on December 4 had just released a new album, A Mi 80s, in references to being a recording artist over the age of 80.
Fue un honor y un gran orgullo compartir con todos una gran trayectoria de música y darlo todo por su público. Gracias por seguir aplaudiendo, gracias por seguir cantando.
In making the announcement of Fernandez’s passing, his management called it an honor and an act of pride to share with all the grand array of music Fernandez has been responsible for. “Thank you for continuing to applaud; thank you for continuing to sing,” Fernandez’s representatives said in Spanish.
For U.S. Hispanic radio, the loss of Fernandez is perhaps the most profound in history, even bigger than that of Juan Gabriel, the late Mexican singer who is perhaps the greatest equal in the genre to Fernandez.
“There’s really no word to label him — actor, writer, singer, philanthropist,” Spanish Broadcasting System EVP of Programming Jesus Salas tells RBR+TVBR. “He could have run for President in Mexico and been in office forever. There are so many hit songs he recorded that we could have one whole radio station just playing Vicente Fernandez’s music, and we wouldn’t repeat a song for days. It is one of the greatest losses we’ve had in music, internationally, and his songs were about love. He fit everywhere, and he was always on TV. It’s just a great loss, and one of the biggest in the past 100 years.”
At SBS’s WLEY-FM “107.9 La Ley” in Chicago, regular programming came to a halt just before 9am Central on Sunday, with Fernandez’s “Mi Ranchito” from 1977 kicking off a marathon of his works that continued through Midnight. Even in New York, known primarily as a hub of bachata, salsa and merengue, Fernandez’s “Un Million de Primaveras” played just before 2pm at WPAT-FM “93.1 Amor.” In Miami, which has seen a sharp increase in Hispanics of Mexican heritage in addition to those from across Central America, SBS’s Spanish Adult Hits WCMQ-FM “Z92” broke programming to go all-Vicente Fernandez just past 10:30am, ending the music marathon at 2pm while playing one of his songs on the top of each subsequent hour.
While the airtime devoted to Vicente Fernandez in markets that some may not consider to be Mexican-dominant was substantial, the reaction to his passing by Hispanic radio stations in Los Angeles is perhaps unprecedented. Univision Radio’s entire group of FMs, comprised of KLVE, KSCA-FM and KRCD/KRCV “Recuerdo”, each abandoned regular programming to go wall-to-wall with music and memories of Fernandez. For KLVE, his music aired from 6:30am Sunday through 5am Monday, returning at 7am and concluding at 10am. At KSCA, a short break from Fernandez’s music was seen from 4am-10am Pacific on Monday; for “Recuerdo,” at 6am Pacific a resumption of mostly Fernandez’s songs was seen after a break from Sunday’s 9am-7pm musical tribute.
Also embracing Vicente Fernandez’s music in Los Angeles: Estrella Media-owned “Que Buena,” the former Liberman station, which is a heritage regional Mexican brand in the market. Eddie León, the company’s EVP of Radio Programming for Estrella Media, said in a prepared statement, “Our heartfelt condolences to Vicente’s family, which includes his millions of fans.” Pepe Garza, the longtime radio programmer now with Estrella Media, added, “Vicente Fernández was undoubtedly the last great singing Charro. He left this world, but his music will prevail forever.”
Estrella Media personality “Don Cheto,” who can be seen on Estrella TV and heard on Que Buena, commented, “He was the greatest. We all have at least one song by Vicente Fernández that takes us back to a special moment in our lives.”
At Estrella TV, regular Sunday prime-time programming was scrubbed, with a two-hour Tributo a Vicente Fernández special tonight airing at 7pm ET/PT and a concert at 9pm ET/PT.
For Entravision Communications, upon hearing rumblings overnight of his passing, a program was pre-prepared for Sunday. When the official word came, many of the company’s radio stations, networks, and its syndicated programs, including that of Alex “El Genio” Lucas, devoted programming to Vicente Fernandez. “It’s a very multigenerational feeling about Vicente,” says National Operations Director Andrea Becerra. “He is just one of those rare artists whose work has spanned generations.” Entravision’s networks include regional Mexican El Tricolor, named for the Mexican flag; classic regional Mexican and grupera-focused “La Suavecita”; and regional Mexican Adult Hits “José.” All three went non-stop with Fernandez’s music. Even “Fuego,” which targets Hispanics 18-34 and focuses on Reggaetón and Latin Pop, included some of his music and acknowledgment of his passing. “You’re going to know the words to every one of his songs, because you listened along with your grandparents. He really impacted every aspect of Latin radio in this country,” Becerra adds.
“It’s the end of an era,” adds Angie Balderas, the SVP of Integrated Marketing Solutions at Entravision in Sacramento. Balderas is also the former owner of a Sacramento regional Mexican station whose fourth anniversary, in 2013, was a Vicente Fernandez concert staged by Hauser Entertainment at the old Arco Arena. “There is nobody more Mexican than Vicente. He epitomized being Mexican. It is on a different level. If you are Latino, you know him. You may not be in to his music, but you know him.”
Perhaps one of the connection points between Mexicans and Central Americans who came to the U.S. and Fernandez is the singer and actor’s background. He, like many immigrants, came from a working-class family. Through hard work and focus, Fernandez became a superstar among superstars — so much that Country music legend George Strait paid tribute to Fernandez on Sunday during a performance.
On tastemaker NPR Member station KCRW‘s signature “Morning Becomes Eclectic” program, Monday’s program kicked off with Fernandez’s “A mi Manera” as a R.I.P. to El Chente. “Chapala” was the first song in the 2pm hour, while the program concluded with “Mujeres Divinas.” The program is hosted by Anthony Valadez and Novena Carmel; Valadez is perhaps emblematic of the cross-generational appeal of Fernandez’s music for a wide swath of Angelinos.
The biggest recognition of Fernandez’s passing is perhaps that of KIIS-FM, the longtime English-language Top 40 radio station owned by iHeartMedia. At 9am Monday, his “El Rey” from 1975 played between tracks from Ne-Yo and Doja Cat. At 7am, it was Fernandez’s “Volver Volver” that played between Doja Cat and Khalid. On Sunday, KIIS played “Volver Volver” at 12:45pm and again at 2:35pm; “El Rey” was heard at 1:22pm and 3:55pm.
It was a far cry from the days when comedian Donny Lemos portrayed “Chuy from La Puente” on the Rick Dees in the Morning program. And, it was perhaps the most outstanding tribute to Fernandez — an important recording artist whose memory is a blessing to all who have come to known his work.
Vicente Fernández died the same day Mexico celebrates the feast of the Virgen de Guadalupe, or the Virgin of Guadalupe.
