Vicente Fernández (1940-2021) was a Mexican singer, actor, and film producer widely known across Latin America as "El Rey" (The King) of ranchera music. Born in Huentitán El Alto, a suburb of Guadalajara, Jalisco, he grew up on his father’s ranch and began singing as a boy, inspired by icons like Pedro Infante.
After years busking in Guadalajara’s mariachi plazas, he signed with CBS Records in 1966 and went on to record more than 50 albums over a five-decade career, always backed by a full mariachi orchestra and wearing his signature wide-brimmed sombrero. He won three Grammys and eight Latin Grammys, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, and sold more than 50 million records worldwide, making him one of the most beloved voices in regional Mexican music.