Mexican icon José José has died of pancreatic cancer. The musician was 71.
Born José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz in Mexico City, El Príncipe de la canción, who came from a musical family, launched his career in his teens. By the 1970s, he was an ascendant star, with his songs topping the Latin charts. In the next few decades, his music became a fixture in Latino and Latin American households. He was also beloved in Russia and Japan.
“From the Ministry of Culture, we are sorry for the passing of singer José Rómulo Sosa, better known as José José or el príncipe de la canción,” the Secretaría de Cultura del Gobierno de México tweeted on Saturday. “Since the beginning of his career, the singer of ‘El Triste’ became one of the most beloved voices in Mexico. Rest in Peace.”