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 Mexico's Culture Ministry expressed its condolences in a
statement, calling Jose Jose, whose real name was Jose Romulo
Sosa Ortiz, "one of Mexico's most loved voices."
Jose Jose received several Grammy nominations, sold more than
250 million albums and was once courted by music legend Frank
Sinatra, who wanted to win him for his own label.
He is often considered Mexico's most successful singer and was
also an occasional actor.
"It is sad, his passing," Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador told reporters. Mexico City residents gathered for an
impromptu tribute at a statue of the singer, laying wreaths, and
singing his songs. Some were in tears.
"The Prince of Song," as the Mexican was affectionately called
by his fans, was born into a family of musicians and raised in
Mexico City.
Son of tenor Jose Sosa Esquivel and pianist Margarita Ortiz
Pensado, Jose Jose began his musical career as a child: he
debuted in school choir and in 1963 formed a musical trio
formally starting his career at age 15.
Initially, he appeared in nightclubs and even formed a jazz and
bossa nova group in which he played the double bass; later, he
scored a contract with the Mexican subsidiary of the
international label RCA Victor.
In 1969, he released his first album under the pseudonym of
"Jose Jose." The singer said later that his artistic name was
inspired by the name of his father, who died in 1968 of
alcoholism.
Jose Jose conquered the Spanish-speaking world with the
interpretation of "El Triste" at the 1970 Latin Song Festival
that took place in the Mexican capital. It became the
performance that catapulted him to stardom.
The sudden fame also brought negative consequences. Like his
father, he fell into alcoholism and had to take some time out.
He returned to the stage in 1971, but continued to suffer from
alcoholism for 30 more years.
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The 1980s became the most successful decade of his career, during
which he sold two million copies of his album "Secrets" in just a
few weeks while also making his debut in the cinema.
But his dipsomania and lack of rest irreparably damaged his vocal
cords, forcing him to undergo several operations that failed to
restore them. In 2007, he also suffered a facial paralysis.
As a result of his alcohol addiction, Jose Jose's health
deteriorated rapidly since the 1990s. Even so, supported by his
wife, Cuban Sarita Salazar, Jose Jose recovered and continued his
career. In recent years he gained a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.
Mexican broadcaster Televisa reported the singer died in Miami at 71
after complications following treatment for pancreatic cancer. Two
years ago he announced that he had a tumor in the pancreas that was
being treated with chemotherapy.
Many of his works inspired a younger generation of artists and
musicians, including Latin pop star Julio Iglesias, who interpreted
Jose Jose's first big hit "The Ship of Oblivion."
His son Jose Francisco, known as Jose Joel, who is also a musician,
changed his profile picture on Twitter to a black ribbon. His
daughters Marysol and Sara have also followed the family tradition
into music.
(Reporting by Diego Ore, Stefanie Eschenbacher and Adriana Barrera
Espinosa; Editing by Leslie Adler and Dan Grebler)
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