Friends in Spain tell me that the news of legendary singer Rocío Dúrcal’s death shook their country, and it’s no wonder why. Rocío Dúrcal came of age and into fame at a time when Spain was living “de espaldas al mundo” because of a dictatorship. Dúrcal made her career in Spain, but her fame soon spread to Mexico with her working collaborations with Juan Gabriel.

Mexico’s love affair with Rocío Dúrcal has been going strong ever since. Among my friends in Mexico, old and young, Rocío was regarded as “una mexicana de corazón” and was so beloved for the passion that she felt for Mexican music genres such as rancheras, mariachi and bolero.

To speak of Rocío is to speak of Juan Gabriel. In México, it is hard for people to separate the two. Juan Gabriel, as controversial as he has been through the years, is truly a Mexican icon, and by extension Rocío became that as well. Like any good “pareja”, they fought a lot, but always seemed to come back together (although it seems that Rocío was once again annoyed with him before she died…apparently he hadn’t checked up on her the last time she was hospitalized).

México watched Rocío grow up and grow into a master of Mexican song. Seeing her go is as hard for México as it is for Spain. Famous Mexican performers have been expressing their grief at the loss, some speaking of a public homage:

Mexican actor and singer Enrique Guzmán tenderly remembers his friend Rocío Dúrcal and expressed his willingness to participate in any posthumous homage that might be offered.

With his voice breaking, Enrique Guzmán lamented the loss of the performer, who he calls more Mexican than Spanish…

“Even as a Spaniard, she was the best ranchera performer, as great as Lola Beltrán”, said the singer.

Singer Marco Antonio Muñíz agrees:

“After Lola Beltrán, Rocío was one of the great symbols of our folklore and not only in Mexico but in every part of the world, because she was a tireless woman.”

She was, indeed, tireless. She never tired of lifting up the name of Mexico, its music and its people in every country she visited, including her own. Rocío was proof that sometimes “patria” isn’t about where you were born or where you live, but what’s in your heart. She sang of México as if it were her own home because it was.

Via / El Siglo de Torreón