Vicente Fernandez, Mexico’s ‘El Rey,’ receives keys to the city
October 23, 2012 12:13AM
Vicente Fernandez, Mexico's King of Ranchera Music (and Mexico's biggest music star), comes to 26th & Troy to get a street named after him, receive the keys to the city and a declaration of "Vicente Fernandez Week" in Chicago, Oct. 20-27. Monday, October 22, 2012 | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times
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Updated: October 23, 2012 12:18AM
After performing two sold-out shows this weekend at the Allstate Arena on his “Gira de Adios,” Latin music superstar Vicente Fernandez received honors fit for a king.
City and state officials presented “El Rey de la Cancion Ranchera” with the keys to the city, declared Oct. 20-27 as Vicente Fernandez Week and also renamed a stretch of 26th Street in Little Village in his honor.
In a ceremony Monday at the Little Village Arch, Fernandez told the crowd: “I’ll always have Chicago in my heart because it was here I began my first tour 47 years ago. It’s an honor that a street of this neighborhood will bear the name of a humble servant. It is worth more than I could ever say.”
Wearing a suede jacket instead of his usual traje de charro, Fernandez broke into an a cappella version of “El Hijo del Pueblo,” one of his early hits.
Fernandez, 72, announced earlier this year that he would retire from the stage after five decades of non-stop touring. His last concerts will be Dec. 14-15 in his home state of Jalisco.
