Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero, known as the king of romance, died of Covid-19 this Monday after spending several days in a hospital, Mexico’s culture minister Alejandra Frausto confirmed. He was 85 years old.
“It is with great pain that I regret the death of maestro Armando Manzanero, one of the greatest composers in Mexico, his songs are a definitive part of the sentimental education of Mexicans,” Mexican Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto announced online.
“Generous and smiling, always devoted to culture. Thank you very much,” added the official.
After the news broke, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had a few words in recognition of the artist and ended his morning press conference.
“I have seen as never before that Armando Manzanero was a man of the people, so I am very sorry for his death. A great composer, also a representative of Mexican writers and composers,” said the president.
“We send to their family and friends, to all the singer-songwriters, our condolences for this unfortunate loss to the artistic world and I don’t want to continue this press conference any longer and nothing else ends,” continued López Obrador, who wrote the song “Adoro from Manzanero to close the press conference.
The author of classics of Mexican Romantic music, such as ‘We are boyfriends’, ‘I’m going to turn off the light’, ‘I learned with you’, ‘I saw it rain this afternoon’ and ‘No’, he was hospitalized in Mexico City last week after receiving positive had tested for covid-19 and intubated days then.
The last public appearance of Manzanero, president of the Association of Authors and Composers of Mexico, was last December 11 in Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, where he opened the Casa Manzanero Museum.
Manzanero (Mérida, Yucatán, 1935) leaves an unforgettable legacy in the history of music in Spanish, numerous records sold and numerous recognitions, such as the honorary Grammy Award in 2014.
Knowledgeable of the bolero tradition and highly sensitive, the composer connected with the audience with songs covered over the years by artists of Elvis Presley status, with ‘It’s impossible’, an English version of We Are Friends “, Dionne Warwick, Tony Bennett, Alejandro Fernández and Christina Aguilera.
Besides pianist, performer and producer, composer Manzanero was born in 1950 with “Never in the world” and has more than 400 songs.
He has published over 30 records, including ‘Somos novios’ (1968), Corazón Salvaje (1977), ‘Nada personal’ (1995) and ‘Duetos’, earning him the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album for Group or Duo in 2001 .
With 1.4 million infections and 122,000 deaths, Mexico is the fourth country in the world with the highest number of deaths from the pandemic, after the United States, Brazil and India.
His life
Manzanero is the author of classics of Mexican Romantic music such as ‘Somos novios’, ‘I’m going to turn off the lights’, ‘With you I learned’, ‘This afternoon I saw it rain’ and ‘No’, he revealed a few weeks ago to Efe that he felt happy to receive awards in life.
“I am rewarded for life,” said the composer a few weeks ago, who has among his children Martha Manzanero Arjona, Juan Pablo Manzanero Blum, as well as Mainca and Rodrigo.
The so-called “king of romance” received the Billboard Award for his career a few months ago.
The authorities of Mexico and Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, premiered “The Route of Nostalgia” in his honor to share important scenes from the artist’s life with national, local and international visitors.