When Álex Fernández began his career as a singer, the first thing he was told was that it was not a very good idea for him to perform rancheras, the music that has placed his grandfather and father in a place of honor in the Olympus of vernacular music.
“They told me to choose a genre, and when I said I wanted to sing this they told me it was a bad idea because it was an old, outdated genre,” said the eldest son of Alejandro Fernández, son of Vicente Fernández, who, until his death, last year, was the maximum representative of the ranchera song. “Most opinions are that it was a bad idea, [pero] my grandfather supported me and in the end I wanted to sing what I enjoy, instead of doing something that doesn’t connect with me and that’s why I don’t connect with the audience”.
In fact, it was Vicente who “discovered” Álex’s talent when Álex unintentionally grabbed a microphone in his grandfather’s recording studio and started singing.
When Vicente listened to him, he realized that Álex had vocal talent and encouraged him to launch himself as a performer, despite the opinion of Alejandro, who had Álex as an administrator in his company.
“He was not very happy with my decision,” said the 28-year-old artist. “He wanted me to keep working with him, and I still do, but not full time anymore.”
And surely less and less time will be spent in his father’s office because Álex has just released “Looking for oblivion”, a twelve-track album that also includes a bonus. The album was produced by Edén Muñoz, the genius behind many hits performed by various artists, and also for many years the lead singer of Caliber 50, a norteño music band.
The themes, in addition to mariachi, were recorded with instruments such as the accordion, tuba and percussion, something Álex is very proud of.
“Something was super cool,” he said during a visit to Los Angeles, where he sang with his father at a popular rodeo in the city of Pico Rivera. “It’s quite a ‘freon’ experiment.”
In the coming weeks, however, Álex will go his own way, no longer under his father’s wing. He has some concerts scheduled in various Mexican cities, such as Pachuca and Guadalajara. In November he will perform at the Metropolitan theater in Mexico City, a place reserved for the most successful artists and box-officers.
Of course, he will sing his “mariacheño” songs.