Manuel Mijares

Mexican singer Manuel Mijares first encountered music by singing in his school chorus during childhood. His professional bow came in 1981 at the Valores Juveniles festival. After a period living in Japan, where he performed in a nightclub, Mijares linked up with Latin pop star Emmanuel and launched his solo career once he signed with EMI. The self-titled album he released in 1985 carried the international hit “No Se Murió el Amor” onto charts across Latin America. He made his acting debut in Escápate Conmigo opposite singer/actress Lucero, whom he married in January 1997.

His 1998 album El Privilegio de Amar became a major success, its title track featuring Lucero on backing vocals, and Mijares expanded his influence within Latin music through duets with Elton John and Gino Vannelli while gaining greater say over his material—an autonomy demonstrated by the full-album tribute Honor a Quien Honor Merece that he recorded in 2005 to honor one of his chief influences, José José. The following year he issued the lush duet album Acompañame with Yuri. In 2007 he returned to material close to his heart with Swing en Tu Idioma, reworking several favorite songs in swing and big-band arrangements. The covers collection Vivir Así, released in 2009, scored a substantial hit and led directly to Vivir Así Volumen II one year later.

Approaching the 25th anniversary of his debut in 1986, Mijares marked the occasion with a pair of concerts that sold out rapidly and later surfaced as the audio/video package Mijares 25: Zona Preferente. Commercial momentum continued with Canto por Ti, which reached number one in Mexico for several weeks after its 2013 release.