VISALIA – Latin music icon José Feliciano is coming to the Visalia Fox Theatre for a special Christmas concert this December.
Feliciano, a Puerto Rican guitarist, singer and composer, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the show “In Concert at Christmas” go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 15 and can be purchased online at foxvisalia.org, in person at 308 W. Main St. in Visalia or by calling 559-625-1369.
Perhaps most well-known for his song “Feliz Navidad” and his rendition of The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” the 78-year-old Feliciano has been active in music since the 1960s. He received the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 and the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He is also in the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Feliciano toured heavily in the 1970s and ‘80s and released a variety of Spanish- and English-language albums. He was less active in the 1990s after the births of his children, though he still produced six studio albums and made an appearance in the 1996 film “Fargo.” Since 2000, Feliciano has released 16 studio albums and four live albums.
According to his website biography, Feliciano is “a name that is synonymous with music.”
“It is synonymous with an international presence that has influenced popular music for two generations (and) a presence that has bridged musical styles in a way that has never been equaled,” Feliciano’s website says.
Born blind in Lares, Puerto Rico, in 1945, Feliciano’s family moved to the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City when he was five years old. He taught himself how to play guitar at the age of nine. When he was 17 years old, Feliciano quit school and began playing live music in coffee shops and clubs to help support his family. In 1963, he was signed by RCA Records, and in 1964, he released his first single.
