Armando Manzanero, the legendary Mexican singer and composer, died Monday. He was 85.
The Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México (The Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico), for which Manzanero served as president, made the announcement via Twitter. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also noted Manzanero’s death during his daily news conference, describing him as “a great composer and the country’s best.”
The Associated Press reported that Manzanero was hospitalized with COVID-19 in December, but his publicist said he died of complications from a kidney problem.
Manzanero was born on Dec. 7, 1935 in Mexico’s Yucatan state, which he proudly represented.
Over his seven-decade career, he composed and performed hundreds of songs, notably ballads. A translated version of his 1968 song “Somos Novios” became the 1970s hit “It’s Impossible” for Perry Como. Manzanero’s original recording was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.
Manzanero himself won the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 (others in his class were The Beatles, The Isley Brothers and Kraftwerk).
Read tributes to Manzanero below.
Tu música nos acompañará siempre maestro 🙏🏼
Que día más triste… pic.twitter.com/mZ7maNzRVU— Ana Guerra (@anaguerra) December 28, 2020
No te nos vas genio y querido amigo. Solo te adelantas un poco. Mi sentido pésame a la familia manzanero. Y mi admiración infinita para el tiempo que Dios te prestó con nosotros. Gracias por tanto que nos dejas. #DEP Armando Manzanero. pic.twitter.com/CmAgmY19lv
— Kalimba (@KalimbaMX) December 28, 2020
Armando Manzanero… ¡Que triste!l Abrazo enorme a sus hijos, a su familia. Estoy sin palabras… 😔
— Angelica Vale (@angelicavale) December 28, 2020
Hasta siempre, maestro. Siempre será un honor interpretar su música. Nadie como usted, Don Armando Manzanero. Aquí unas de mis favoritas… “No” 💔 pic.twitter.com/simkTtRkBg
— Mauricio Martínez (@martinezmau) December 28, 2020
— SACM México (@SACM_Oficial) December 28, 2020
More to come…