Vicente Fernandez Y Arturo Leyva

Tale of two singers. These were the two top heirs to the throne of Ranchera/mexican country music after the death of Javier Solis in April of 1966. At the time Arturo Leyva (birthname Arturo Gastelum)was the better bet for the critics since he had more name at the time and had already been the veteran of the top tv and radio shows of the time including La XEW radio show and Noches Tapatias TV show. He had also been requested by Javier Solis to be his opener where Javier took him under his wing and demanded that his producers write Arturo Leyva a part in his next film which unfortunately was never made due to the death of Solis. About the time of Javier Solis's death Arturo took a gig in San Francisco at the famed Sinaloa Night Club where he fell in love and stayed for the next twenty years singing primarily in the Bay Area. This action left Vicente with virtually no competition in Mexico City(which was the mecca at the time) and the rest is music history. Vicente has reigned supreme since. Both men were also helped very much by Gerardo Reyes who helped Vicente in the early sixties and Arturo in the 70's giving him role of the bandit in Sin Fortuna. Gerardo Reyes publicly stated that if he had the looks and voice of Arturo Leyva(then known as Cuauhtemoc)there would be no Vicente. In this video clip Vicente is about 60 yrs old and Arturo is 65 yrs old. Though retired as a singer Arturo still performs at special events. Even without Vicente's great mariachi and great sound system and engineers you can still see the shadow of a one time great singer that was highly respected and friends with Lola Beltran, Gerardo Reyes, Javier Solis , Pepe Guizar, Chayito Valdez, Juan Gabriel, and Vicente himself among others. Both were produced at one point by "El Maestro" Fernando Z. Maldonado who also worked with Javier Solis. These men are the last bridge to the Golden era of Charro singers. Today's Ranchera singers can't hold a candle to these singers and even in their old age they can show the youngsters how to do it. You can also see Arturo as gunfighter Carlos Montoya in "The Quick and the Dead" with Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Russell Crowe. He is also featured in upcoming commercials as well as some more movies. Keep you posted.