Mexico mourns the death of Armando Manzanero

Armando Manzanero at a concert in Managua (Nicaragua) in 2006. Esteban Félix / AP

The death of Armando Manzanero has shaken the world of culture, the arts and politics in Mexico and beyond its borders this Monday.

The 85-year-old Yucatecan composer has died after catching the coronavirus and suffering cardiac arrest.

The president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has suspended his usual morning conference and has left the stage after

was heard

in the National Palace.

"He was a sensitive man, our embrace for this unfortunate loss for the artistic world," said the moved president: "I do not want to continue with this press conference."

Reactions have multiplied since the news broke this Monday morning.

"Irreparable loss for the world of Latin music," has announced the Latin Recording Academy, which awards the Latin Grammy.

"He was one of the greatest artists of our time ... Manzanero will live in the souls of all of us who learned to love with his songs," lamented the Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico, of which he was the president.

"He did everything on his part to get ahead and continue enjoying the world and life as only he knew how to do it and to continue feeding on work, creation and the applause of all of you," his family thanked in a statement. .

"My father taught us that we do not die, our body sleeps and our soul transcends," shared Juan Pablo Manzanero.

Manzanero was a master of duets and a figure admired by dozens of artists who performed his compositions.

"You take my admiration and respect," said Raphael, reliving his collaboration on

.

“Recording the great song

and being able to sing it with the teacher has been one of the greatest moments of my life”, Olga Tañón recalled.

"I will miss you, I miss you very much, I don't know about you, a great companion of countless days, a great composer, irreplaceable," said Tania Libertad.

Susana Zabaleta, another of his great accomplices, has also mourned the departure of Manzanero: "We are going to miss him very much, thank you, thank you, Master."

"They have asked me for interviews, they have asked me to say and I don't know what to say, I'm dying," Francisco Céspedes said in an emotional video.

"You stayed inside me and I thank you forever for what you gave me, but it hurts me a lot not to be able to be with you anymore," added the Mexican singer-songwriter of Cuban origin.

"Thank you for letting me meet the man who, without a doubt, was much greater than the artist himself," singer Rosy Arango wrote on social media.

Farewell messages have come and gone on each end of the Atlantic.

"I will never forget your love and our last performance together," lamented Pablo Alboran.

"You taught us to worship in the most beautiful way," said Alejandro Sanz.

"I will always be grateful to you for the advice and the good talks," Ricardo Montaner recalled.

"We will always need you, dear teacher," lamented Joy Huerta.

"The death of Armando Manzanero is a terrible loss ... what a shitty year," concluded guitarist Pancho Varona.

"This moment was really a dream for me," David Bisbal wrote about a presentation he shared with Manzanero at the beginning of his career.

Condolences have come from every corner imaginable: politicians from across the ideological spectrum;

soccer teams and sports figures;

people who shared the screen with him in the cinema, personalities from theater and television.

“What are we going to do without Manzanero?

Live, as with so many, believing that you see it rain from somewhere else, ”said the writer Ángeles Mastretta.

"Thank you for leaving us a musical legacy that raised the name of Yucatán in Mexico and in the world," said the governor of Yucatán, Mauricio Vila.

"Part of the

of loving in Mexico", has commented the playwright Sabina Berman.

“If José Alfredo gave us the cry;

Juan Gabriel, dance, and Agustín Lara, nostalgia.

Armando Manzanero gave us love ”, said Consuelo Sáizar, former Secretary of Culture.

"In a world where it is increasingly difficult to feel, you made us feel everything with your music: joy, infatuation, nostalgia, illusion", Alejandra Frausto, the current secretary.

His Cabinet colleagues in Foreign Relations, Government (Interior) and Labor, among others, joined the mourning, while the main television networks have suspended their regular programming to pay tribute to his extensive career, talent and imprint on international music .

Manzanero leaves a work of more than 400 compositions and more than 30 albums.

His legacy goes further, whether in his particular voice or played by Luis Miguel, Tony Bennett or Elvis Presley.

Died at a peak of the pandemic in the country and before the arrival of some fans who have appeared at the private hospital where he spent his last days, his family has decided not to celebrate any funeral tribute in person or open to the public at the moment.

"We needed time," the great Mexican teacher would say.