Mexican "Elvis" Vicente Fernandez dies (video)

ABC7; Vicente Fernandez; Crystal Quintero, Pfc. Sandoval, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Legendary Mexican singer Vicente Fernández dies at 81

(ABC7, Dec. 12, 2021) Mexican singer Vicente Fernández, who had been hospitalized for several months due to a recent fall, died Sunday morning. The announcement was made on the singer's Instagram. He was 81 years old. Read more: abc7.com/11329836.

"El Rey"

It may seem strange why "El Rey" ("The King") should matter so much in Los Angeles, Mexico, and the world. I remember as a kid, I hated Fernandez. What a macho crybaby, with "Ahay!" yelps everyone mimicked. I asked my mom, What's the big deal with this accordion music?

She explained something that made me an instant fan, something so remarkable that I realized I was assuming. He was famous for his song "El Rey," where he goes around bragging how he's the king, the tough guy, the Numero Uno -- but all ironically. He knows that's exactly what he isn't. It's like Death of a Salesman. It's like The Rockford Files. People, at least a lot of Latin people, prefer a hero like Jim Rockford (James Garner) who's not a tough guy. We prefer an Everyman who's full of himself and full of flaws.

In "El Rey" he's not bragging but lamenting that he's only "the king" in his own head, in his own estimation. He gets no respect. He's the king of nothing. Such insight or humor, it seemed impossible for the kind of ranchero music, which seems all sentiment and false bravado. I looked it up and started to sing it myself.

Yo se bien que estoy afuera

I well know I'm outside

Pero el día que yo me muera

But the day that I die

Se que tendrás que llorar

I know you'll have to cry

(Llorar y llorar, llorar y llorar)

(Cry and cry, cry and cry)

Dirás que no me quisiste

You'll say you didn't want me

Pero vas a estar muy triste

But you'll be very melancholy

Y así te me vas a quedar

And that way you're going to stay

[Coro]

[Chorus]

Con dinero y sin dinero

With money and without money

Yo hago siempre lo que quiero

I always do what I want

Y mi palabra es la ley

And my word is the law

No tengo trono ni reina

I don't have a throne or queen

Ni nadie que me comprenda

Nor anyone to understand me

Pero sigo siendo el rey

But nevertheless I'm the king (But I keep being the king)

Una piedra en el camino

A rock on the road

Me enseñó que mi destino

Showed me my destiny

Era rodar y rodar

Was to roll and roll

(Rodar y rodar, rodar y rodar)

(Roll and roll, roll and roll)

Tambien me dijo un arriero

A mule driver also told me

Que no hay que llegar primero

That you don't have to get there first

Pero hay que saber llegar

But you have to know how to get there

[Coro]

[Chorus].

It's hilarious self-mockery. And the more sincerely he sings it, or we sing along, the more painful the message: We wish were were the king, but we're no king of anything but our head. Why folks sit around and drink to this sentimentality, that seems more to do with wanting any excuse to drink. These are just torch songs belted out in a fantastical knight errant style of the Man from La Mancha, Cervantes' Spanish ideal for dusty cowboys in the Mexican hinterlands. All of Mexico loved Fernandez.

There was another song that sucked me, and my mom had a harder time explaining, "Volver Volver" or "Return Return." The chorus is very catchy but not entirely clearly. I used to think and worry about rebirth a lot, so I took it to mean that he would return again and again to the same romantic situation due to clinging. Things just repeated themselves, and we were nearly helpless to do anything about it, dragged down by our own hearts. This one can be a real tearjerker even if we begin by just going along. The refrain is too haunting.

"Volver Volver"

Este amor apasionado, anda todo alborotado, por volver

This passionate love it's all too messy to return

Voy camino a la locura, y aunque todo me tortura, se querer

I'm on the road to madness, and although everything tortures me, I know how to love

Nos dejamos hace tiempo, pero me llego el momento, de perder

We left us some time ago, but the moment hit me, of loss

Tu tenias mucha razon, le hago caso al corazon

You had much reason, I pay attention to the heart

Y me muero por volver

And I die to return

Y volver volver, volver!

And return, return, return!

A tus brazos otra vez, llegare hasta donde estes

To your arms again, I'll get to where you are

Yo se perder, yo se perder, quiero volver

I know how to lose, I know how to lose, I want to return

Volver, volver

Return, return

Nos dejamos hace tiempo, pero me llego el momento, de perder

We left us some time agom, but the moment arrived for me, to lose

Tu tenias mucha razon, le hago caso al corazon

You had much reasons, I pay attention to the heart

Y me muero por volver

And I die to return

Y volver volver, volver!

And return, return, return!

A tus brazos otra vez, llegare hasta donde estes

To your arms once again, I get back to where you are

Yo se perder, yo se perder, quiero volver, volver, volver

I know how to lose, I know how to lose, I want to return, return, return.

It's like the love of The Smiths and flamboyant emotions, Latins seem to love it raw, the rawer the better. It's a culture of hugs, big expressions, and warmth. Hyperbole welcome. Vicente will be missed. Others will carry on, but it won't be the same.