Ranchera king Vicente Fernandez brings his show to White River

You’ve seen this man before, in all of his stereotypical glory — the proverbial charro outfit, the thick mustache, the smile shining like sunlight off water.

And the sombrero — well, you could sell produce from under that hat, but the fact is you’ve seen this man before because there is no bigger voice in Mexico than Vicente Fernández. At 67, Fernández packs both Sinatra-like stature and Springsteen-like endurance, and with the recent death (on June 19) of fellow great Antonio Aguilar, he’s now the last living representative of old-school ranchera music.

Tonight, the man they call “El Rey” (the king) or “La Leyenda Vivienda” (the living legend) will bring his operatic vocals and glitzy, mariachi-backed show to Auburn’s White River Amphitheatre. But the real noise you hear might be the area’s Spanish-speaking community, whose showing for this event could pave the way for a rising tide of big-name Latin entertainment in the area. “When you tell people from Mexico that Vicente Fernández is going to Seattle, it could be Canada for all they care,” says promoter Fred Godinez, of Stockton, Calif.-based MG&S Productions. “You’re as far north as you can get. But once you put 9,000 to 10,000 butts in the seats, they see there’s something going on there.”

Rising star

Part of Fernández’s legend is built on the challenges he overcame to get there, and if you know Vicente, you know the story — the rancher’s son with barely a fifth-grade education, singing on buses with his guitar while scraping by as a bartender in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

The rejections by Mexico City producers, over and over again.

His eventual signing by CBS Mexico in the mid-1960s to the tune of, well, nothing spectacular.

Then, in 1976: Magic.

That’s when Fernando Maldonado wrote a song for Fernández called “Volver, Volver.” With lyrics built on a lover’s plea for forgiveness, the song’s anthemlike, singalong quality touched a nerve on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, eventually making it a popular cover song for other bands and a favored end-of-party tune for Mexican-Americans, à la “New York, New York.”

The song sent Fernández’s star soaring, and he followed it up with hit after hit, becoming the first performer to sell out Mexico City’s Plaza de Toros bullfighting stadium, where he played for more than 50,000 fans. In all, he has 55 albums to his name, and has appeared in two dozen Mexican films; he even has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

“For people in Mexico, he’s really a big guy,” says Chon Garcia, owner of Seattle’s Jalisco restaurants, who remembers listening to Fernández on cassette as a young, pickup-driving man. “The person he is, for one thing, and then the singer, the canciones rancheras [ranchera songs]. Nobody so far can be like him — it’s like Pelé, in soccer.”

A parallel universe

A mix of country and balladic music, ranchera is Mexico’s most emblematic genre. Synonymous with tradition, homeland and good times, its cross-generational appeal makes it a staple of family get-togethers — which is why Fernández’s tour stops in states like Minnesota and Arkansas.

“We’ve got people taking their parents and their kids,” Godinez says. “He’s touched three generations.”

According to Billboard magazine, ranchera and other forms of regional Mexican music — such as norteño — account for most of the growing Latin music scene in the United States, one that has moved beyond spots like Dallas, Phoenix and Los Angeles to bubble up in formerly unexpected places. This “veritable parallel universe,” as one Houston entertainment lawyer put it, mirrors the country’s growing number of Latinos, many tuned in to increasing ranks of Spanish-language radio stations.

It’s a population with an estimated $863 billion in buying power (as reported by The Stockton Record), able to fill large concert venues and willing to pay for the experience. This is why Mexican superstars now play Las Vegas and why Fernández will be at a venue easily associated with music festivals and 1970s rock supergroups.

At White River, promoters are hoping to tap into Washington state’s Latino population, now estimated at more than 500,000. It will be Fernández’s first show in King County.

He played the Tacoma Dome in 2004 and Portland in 2005. This time he’ll play Auburn and Portland on successive weekend nights, and successful draws, promoter Godinez says, will “put the Seattle-Tacoma area on the map for future Latin shows.” Tickets for tonight’s show range from $33 to $140, with the most expensive having been snapped up first: “The first 35 rows are sold out,” Godinez says.

Despite the price, the show will likely draw entire families.

“It could be one of the last times to see him,” Garcia says. “… We’re in a different country, and if somebody comes from Mexico, it’s a big deal. People have been talking about this for two months.”

Inspired by a legend

If Fernández is the king of ranchera music, then Jorge Corona might be his No. 1 fan. Corona, a 33-year-old construction worker from Lynnwood, recently won the title of Fernández’s “twin voice” at a sound-alike contest sponsored by Spanish-language station KDDS-FM (“La Gran D”).

He was 6 or 7 years old when he started listening to Fernández’s music, which, he says, was popular then the way hip-hop is now. “That’s what inspired me to sing like him,” he says.

Corona was also driven by the balladeer’s hard-fought road to success and the challenge of matching his power and range. He won the “twin voice” title against several other contestants at Tukwila’s Cheves and Beer, scoring a pair of VIP tickets to tonight’s show in the process.

“I scream really loud and hold the notes just like him,” he says.

For Corona — who was born in Oxnard, Calif., but spent most of his life in Puerto Vallarta — and other Mexicans living here, Fernández represents memories of home. The music reminds Corona of his late father, who used to invite friends over to hang out while Fernández’s music played in the background.

“He was my idol when I was young,” says radio host Mercedes Garcia of Seattle’s KXPA-AM, remembering how other kids in her home state of Colima — fans of pop music bands such as Menudo or the Spanish group Parchis — ridiculed the photos gracing her notebooks, making fun of Fernández’s big mustache or exposed chest.

While others at the weekend karaoke nights she hosts at Renton’s Mazatlan restaurant might have to read the lyrics to his songs, she already knows all the words, which along with music-inspired memories are tattooed into her brain — images of birthday parties, holiday get-togethers, and her mom washing dishes.

This show, “means we are a big community,” Garcia says. “… We used to be camouflaged. But now it’s like an open door for all kinds of shows.”

Last year, thousands in King County turned out to see Spanish soccer power Real Madrid take on D.C. United at Qwest Field, while the Puyallup Fair now offers an annual Latino Celebration Day.

Host Garcia hopes promoters will find other reasons to target the Spanish-speaking community, and not just for seemingly “Latino” events. One missed opportunity, she thinks, was Cavalia, an equestrian show launched by a founder of Cirque du Soleil that played several years ago in Renton.

“It’s similar to our charros,” she says. “Also, monster trucks, professional bull riding — all these different shows mean a lot for our people, but sometimes [promoters] don’t know.”

The shows put on by ranchera’s superstars are renowned for their glitz and ambition, and on this 26-date tour, Fernández’s should be no exception. “Usually it’s groups like Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones with all these trailers,” promoter Godinez says.

But it’s Fernández’s endurance that surprises. Chon Garcia remembers the singer’s Tacoma Dome show three years ago: “For three hours, he never stopped,” the restaurateur says. “He just kept going. He said, ‘if you keep applauding, I’ll keep going.'”

Marc Ramirez: 206-464-8102 or mramirez@seattletimes.com