Bill Text: CA SCR64 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Concurrent Resolution 64 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Vicente Fernández Day.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 66-17-1)

Status: (Passed) 2022-08-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 118, Statutes of 2022. [SCR64 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SCR64-Chaptered.html

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 64

CHAPTER 118

Relative to Vicente Fernández Day.

[ Filed with Secretary of State August 19, 2022. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 64, Rubio. Vicente Fernández Day.

This measure would declare that the Legislature honors the life and legacy of Vicente Fernández, and would proclaim February 17, 2022, as Vicente Fernández Day, a day of remembrance and education to ensure that all Californians honor and remember the cultural voice of generations.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, Vicente Fernández was an unparalleled Mexican artist and cultural icon, known and beloved by generations of people around the world as “El Rey de la Música Ranchera,” with a legendary impact in Mexican movies, proudly representing a rich Mexican heritage; and

WHEREAS, Vicente Fernández was born on February 17, 1940, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and from a young age expressed a passion for traditional music and was influenced by Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante; and

WHEREAS, Vicente Fernández’s passion led to performing for tips in Mariachi Plaza in Guadalajara, Mexico, before winning the La Calandria Musical competition and moving to Mexico City to begin a career in music that would ultimately lead to him becoming a world-renowned icon in regional Mexican music; and

WHEREAS, Vicente Fernández’s extensive career over several decades included more than 50 albums that earned over 50 million album sales, three Grammy Awards, nine Latin Grammy Awards, appearances in more than two dozen movies, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and numerous sold-out concert tours around the world, to the delight of many fans; and

WHEREAS, Possessing an iconic strong operatic voice and a relentless stamina, Vicente Fernández was beloved by fans for live concerts that could last for hours as he stated in his concerts that he would keep singing as long as the audience would keep applauding, and intermixing powerful performances with personal interactions with audience members; and

WHEREAS, Known fondly by fans as “Chente,” Vicente Fernández received several nicknames over his career, including “El Ídolo de México,” “El Charro de Huentitán,” and “El Rey de la Música Ranchera,” for providing beautiful renditions to traditional songs, including “El Rey,” “Volver Volver,” and “Para Siempre,” a lifetime of performances that embodied the historic folk themes of Mexico, including honor and romance, grit and pain, ranches, and the rural countryside; and

WHEREAS, Vicente Fernández died on December 12, 2021, at 81 years of age, and is survived by a loving spouse of 57 years, four children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and his ranch Los Tres Potrillos, which carries his legacy and passion for living as a ranchero; and

WHEREAS, Vicente Fernández’s death has been mourned by world leaders and countless individuals who will remember Vicente Fernández for songs that saluted the salt-of-the-earth lives of hardworking, humble people; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Vicente Fernández in California represents a loss that impacts not only Latinos in California, but also the embedded heritage and culture of California. California and the world lost an icon who represented a voice that we listened to and who we saw in murals in the streets of California, restaurants, supermarkets, and the homes of our abuelos and during friend or family gatherings. Vicente Fernández’s voice and music will forever be a representation of native Californian heritage because his art impacted Californians in direct and indirect ways. Specifically, the 15.6 million Latinos who call California home, according to the 2020 United States Census, and many communities across the state have held memorial services paying tribute to the impact that Vicente Fernández had in our California communities; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature honors the life and legacy of Vicente Fernández and proclaims February 17, 2022, as Vicente Fernández Day, a day of remembrance and education to ensure that all Californians honor and remember the cultural voice of generations; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.