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Thousands Attend Memorial Service For The Late Mexican Music Legend José José

José José
José José (Gabriel [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons)
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MEXICO CITY, (CelebrityAccess) — Thousands of fans of the late Mexican singer José José lined the streets of Mexico City as his ashes were taken to the city’s Palace of Fine Arts for a memorial event.

José Sosa Ortiz, better known by his stage name José José, who rose to become one of the most popular ballad and pop singers in Mexico’s history, died in Homestead, Florida on September 28th after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

According to the Associated Press, José José was memorialized with a tribute at the Palace of Fine Arts and later memorialized with a Catholic Mass at Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, one of the most important Catholic spiritual centers in the Western Hemisphere.

The events were attended by relatives and dignitaries such as Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, Culture Secretary Alejandra Frausto, and Mexican singer Emmanuel, as well as about 15,000 fans and well-wishers, the Associated Press reported.

Known as Mexico’s “Prince of Song,” José José first found success as a solo artist in the early 1970s on the strength of hits such as his rendition of “El Triste” which he first performed at a Latin music festival in Mexico City in 1970.

His performance and vocal style have played an outsized role in the music scene of Mexico since, with numerous Latin pop artists including Marc Anthony, Pepe Aguilar, Erik Rubin, Diego Verdaguer, and Chayanne all listing him as an important influence.

In 1997, José was inducted into Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame and he was a recipient of the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. His accolades also include the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and the following year, he was named Person of the Year by the Latin Recording Academy.

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