In his native Mexico, Vicente Fernández is hailed as the "king of the ranch… Read Full Bio ↴In his native Mexico, Vicente Fernández is hailed as the "king of the rancheros." He was born and raised in Huentitán del Alto, Jalisco, Mexico to a poor family and had to work since his childhood to maintain himself. Vicente got his start when he won a Guadalajara singing contest. At age 21 he was in the show "La Calandria Musical" where he received his first payment for singing. He earned 35 pesos. He and his ranchera music have become most popular in Latin America and in Spain.

In 1995, his tribute to Mexico's beloved Trio Los Panchos, Recordando A Los Panchos, earned him considerable acclaim and produced two major hits, "Miseria" and "No, No, Y No."

He owns and primarily lives in a huge ranch named 'Los Tres Potrillos" located between the cities of Guadalajara and Chapala Jalisco, Mexico. It was named after his three sons. It is complete with stables, 2 houses, a lake, high bred horses and a church. During Christmas time thousands of children go to this ranch where hundreds of thousands of dollars in Christmas gifts are given out.

He loves miniature horses and has bred them at his ranch, where he even has some as small as 6 inches.

In 2005, Fernández and his sons, Alejandro and Vicente Jr., made history by becoming the first Latin American singers to appear as cartoons in a video, for Vicente Sr.'s song, Al Mayor de los Fernandez (To the Oldest Fernández), dedicated to Vicente Sr.'s father.

Vicente has been married to Maria del Refugio Abarca Villaseñor since December 27, 1963. He has three sons with her: Vicente Jr, Gerardo, and Alejandro. His fans and the media refer to him as "Chente", a diminutive of his name out of affection but in interviews and events he is also addressed as Don Vicente out of respect. In Mexico he is referred to as "El Rey" (the king) and as "El Charro de Huentitán" (the Charro of Huentitan). His wife is affectionately known as Doña Cuca. Vicente, just like his son Alejandro, is notorious for being a ladies man and is often called a Don Juan. [1]

Vicente was involved in a scandal when it was made public that he had maintained a relation for ten years with Patricia Rivera, whom he met in 1977 while filming "El Arracadas". Years later she declared that her son, Pablo Rodrigo, was a product of that relation and Vicente recognized the son as his, giving him the Fernandez name. Afterwards DNA testing proved that Pablo was not his son.[2]

In 2004, while in concert in Miami's American Airlines Arena, Vicente had to pay $30,000 USD for having gone over the original scheduled time for the concert. He sang for three hours some of his all time hits as well as songs from his then new album "Se Me Hizo Tarde la Vida".[3]

Vicente has a star in Hollywood's Walk of Fame and his ceremony there was attended by over 5,000 people, breaking all previous attendance records.[4]

Vicente retired in 2016 in a massive concert in Estadio Azteca, Mexico city.

He fell from a horse in his rancho in august 2021, causing a rapid decline in his health. Vicente Fernandez, one of the greatest mexicans to ever live, passed away on December 12, 2021, from complications related to his fall.

www.chente.com

Angelitos Negros
Vicente Fernández Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴

Pintor nacido en mi tierra
con el pincel extrangero
pintor que sigues el rumbo
de tantos pintores viejos.

Aunque la virgen sea blanca
pintame angelitos negros
que tambi

Overall Meaning

én tienen su mirar,
todos los negros son buenos.

También los quiero pintar
de cualquier color moreno,
con sus alas negras también,
que llegan lejos, lejos.

En Angelitos Negros, Vicente Fernandez speaks to a painter from his land who follows the path of many older painters. He requests the painter to paint angelitos negros, which means "little black angels." He insists that though the Virgin Mary may typically be depicted as white, black angels too have their own beauty and innocence, and all black people are inherently good. Fernandez expresses his desire to see black angels painted in their true form- with black wings that can take them very far.

The song is a poignant cry against racism, which is prevalent even within communities that indulge in the practice of faith. Fernandez emphasizes the intrinsic beauty of blackness and expands it to include people of all colors. Hence he asks the painter to paint angelitos of varying skin tones as well. The lyrics speak volumes of the way race has historically been a tool used to divide communities across the world.

Contributed by Ellie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS