Armando Manzanero, legendary Mexican singer and composer, dead at 85

Mexican composer and singer Armando Manzanero died Monday morning after battling Covid-19 for weeks.

Manzanero, who was 85, died at a hospital in Mexico City, Mexico’s Society for Authors and Composers confirmed to CNN. He was hospitalized in mid-December after testing positive for Covid-19, CNN reported at the time.

Manzanero was a prolific composer, with more than 600 songs to his name, according to the society. His songs were interpreted by artists from around the world, including Elvis Presley, Dionne Warwick, Perry Como, Spanish singer Raphael, and fellow Mexican star Luis Miguel.

The Latin Recording Academy, which awards the Latin Grammys, expressed its sympathy. “Armando Manzanero received the Award for Musical Excellence and was the winner of the Latin Grammy, as well as a great friend that is now gone,” the organization said.

“We celebrate his life and work. An irreplaceable loss for the Latin music world. We are with the Manzanero family in their grief.”

Manzanero won a Latin Grammy in 2001 for his album “Duets.”

He went on to win a Lifetime Achievement award in 2014, becoming the first Mexican to receive this honor.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed his condolences.

“Armando Manzanero was a sensitive man, a man of the people. That’s why I lament his death,” he said during a press conference on Monday. “He was also a great composer.”

Manzanero will be cremated in Mexico City and his remains will be taken to his hometown of Merida, in Yucatan state.

Mexico has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, recording 1,383,434 coronavirus cases and 122,426 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.