Alejandro Fernández to honor his father on tour
For Alejandro Fernández, a Mexican music icon and son of the late Vicente “Chente” Fernández, it’s “never going to be easy” getting up on stage and performing after the death of his father in 2021.
“It’s going to be on your mind your whole life,” Fernández, 51, says in an interview conducted in Spanish. “I’m always going to miss him … the important thing is trying to overcome this and being able to dedicate my shows to my father.”
That’s what Fernández is setting out to do this fall.
In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, Fernández revealed he is embarking on a new North American tour, his first in the U.S. since Vicente’s death. The 21-date Amor Y Patria tour kicks off Sept. 8 in Sacramento, California, at the Golden 1 Center and will continue with shows in major cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York and Las Vegas. The tour will conclude in Miami on Oct. 22.
Fans can expect “something special” from the Amor Y Patria tour, the singer says, which will celebrate Mexican music and his love for his native country.
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time on Ticketmaster.com.
Fernández on touring with son Alex, grieving father Vicente
Fernández’s Amor Y Patria will also be a family affair.
The singer, who first performed with his father in 1976 when he was about 5 years old, will continue the father-son tradition with his 29-year-old son, singer Alex Fernández, who will join him onstage for the majority of the tour.
“I’m so proud of him,” he says. “I did the same with my father and he supported me a lot.”
Fernández says performing with his father Vicente, known as “El Rey de la Música Ranchera” (”The King of Mexican Music”), opened many doors for him. He never took it for granted because he “knew that spotlight was super important.”
In 2020, Alejandro and Vicente recorded their second duet “Mentí,” featured in Alejandro’s sixteenth studio album. The first song they ever recorded was “Qué Pregunta Muchacho,” released in 1992.
“I tried to make the best of every time I performed with my father,” Fernández adds.
Since his father’s death at 81 after suffering a fall that caused a spinal cord injury, performing without Vicente is no easy feat. The singer often breaks down in tears as he performs renditions of his father’s most popular hits including “Volver, Volver,” “Las Llaves de Mi Alma” and “Por Tu Maldito Amor.”
Fernández wrapped a sold-out U.S. for his “Hecho En Mexico” album in October 2021 before his father died. Recently, he has continued to perform in Mexico for the Latin American leg of that tour.
“I had to pick myself up and pick up all the pieces when everything happened with my father,” he adds. “Not only me, but my family, too, and returning to the stage was very difficult.”
But now, he has his son Alex as his support system onstage. “I’m just happy to be able to repeat this (tradition) with my son, guiding him from the other side,” he says.
Fernández reminisces on father Vicente’s career highlights
The singer says he plans a special show in Mexico City this spring at the historic Plaza de toros México, the world’s largest bullring, to pay tribute to one of his father’s most iconic performances.
In 1984, Vicente took the stage at the same venue and Fernández says “it was one of the performances that catapulted him to international stardom.”
“It was a whole experience,” he says, adding that his father had the odds stacked against him that day amid rocky relationships with the media and unforeseen weather circumstances. “It rained so hard that day, it seemed as though the sky was going to fall.”
Ultimately, it stopped raining an hour before his father was set to perform and he sold out the 41,262-seat venue. “Everything turned out spectacular,” he says. “It’s been one of the most iconic performances of his career and so in honor of the year anniversary of his death, we want to repeat that night.”
Fernández dishes on new album
Fernández kicked off 2023 by releasing a new single “Inexperto en Olvidarte,” and promises fans they can expect a new album soon.