He was known as “El Rey,” “Chente” or “El Charro de Huentitán” by his fans around the world and was widely respected as the king of ranchera music.
Strait has long-cited Fernández as one of his musical heroes, up there with Bob Wills.
“I’ve loved Mariachi music for years, and although I’m not fluent in Spanish, I’ve been trying to get better,” Strait said in publicity materials for the album at the time.