From this accumulation, he and his producer choose 12 tracks. When he records an album, he spends 12–13 hours in the studio recording up to 18 songs he takes a day off, then returns for another marathon session of recording another 15 or more songs. (He was released 4 months later with a ransom of $3.2 million.) įernández has recorded more than 50 albums in 35 years and claims to have recorded 300 more songs, making another 30 albums possible even if he retires. In 1998, he continued to tour despite the kidnapping of his oldest son. Since then his music has expanded rapidly. By the end of the night the critics were comparing him to other famous ranchera artists like José Alfredo Jiménez, Jorge Negrete, and Javier Solís. Overwhelmed by the news but determined not to let the crowd go without a show, Fernández went onstage and performed. In 1970, just as Fernández was about to go onstage, his father died. Maintaining the ranchera tradition, Fernández always performs wearing the charro, an embroidered suit, and sombrero. His first hit movie, for which he did the soundtrack, was 1974's La ley del monte. He branched into acting with the 1971 film Tacos al carbón. He released his first recording, "Perdóname", with the company in 1966 Fernández still records for the label, which is now Sony Music Latin of Sony Music Entertainment. Discos CBS, the recording label in the Mexican department of CBS Records International, offered Fernández a recording contract. In the spring of 1966, Javier Solís, Mexico's most popular traditional singer, died. Vicente Jr was born 3 months premature in 1963 Fernández's mother died the same week. They now have three sons: Vicente Jr., Gerardo, and Alejandro. Discouraged, he left around 1963 to marry María del Refugio "Cuca" Abarca Villasenor. When he wasn't working, he was auditioning -unsuccessfully- for record companies. After a couple of years Fernández tried his luck in Mexico City, where he found a job singing in a restaurant called "El Amanacer Tapatío". He went back to Jalisco, where he performed as a busker and occasionally appeared on the television show La calandria musical. In 1960, Fernández devoted himself to music full-time. Fernández, who had dropped out of school in fifth grade, began working jobs in the city such as janitor, dishwasher, waiter and whatever else he could find, all the while holding to his musical aspirations. Around this time, however, Fernández's father lost the ranch and the family moved into the city of Tijuana. It was his first break into performing and he began to play at local clubs and gatherings. In 1954 he won an amateur contest sponsored by a Guadalajara television station. Later, at 12, he won 31 pesos in another contest. As a boy, Fernández sang at a festival in Arandas, Mexico where he won the contest. His mother often took him to see the films of Pedro Infante he has said of these films' significance: "When I was 6 or 7, I would go see Pedro Infante's movies, and I would tell my mother, 'When I grow up, I'll be like him.'" By age 8 he had taken up the guitar and was practicing singing in the style of the ranchera singers he heard on the radio. "Chente", as he was commonly known, became fond of the idyllic ranch lifestyle. He also worked at a young age as a waiter, dish washer, cashier, and finally manager of his uncle's restaurant. In 2016, Fernández retired from performing live, although he continues to record and publish music.īorn on 17 February 1940 in the suburb of Huentitán El Alto in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Fernández spent his early years on his father Ramon's ranch on the outskirts of Guadalajara. He has sold over 50 million copies worldwide, making him one of the best-selling regional Mexican artists of all time. Vicente's fame rose after the death of Javier Solís (El Rey del Bolero Ranchero).įernández's work has earned him three Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is accompanied live by a mariachi group, but he is not technically a mariachi musician, as he only sings live. His repertoire consists of rancheras and other Mexican classics. Nicknamed " El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), " El Ídolo de México" (The Idol of Mexico), and " El Rey de la Música Ranchera" (The King of Ranchera Music), Fernández started his career as a busker, and has since become a cultural icon, recording more than 50 albums and contributing to more than 30 films. Vicente "Chente" Fernández Gómez (born 17 February 1940) is a Mexican retired singer, actor, and film producer.
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