José José Dead At 71: 'El Principe De La Canción' Died From Organ Failure After Battle Against Pancreatic Cancer

Jose Jose — José José Dead At 71: 'El Principe De La Canción' Died From Organ Failure After Battle Against Pancreatic Cancer Photo: Getty Images

The iconic Mexican singer

, better known as “El príncipe de la canción” or

"The prince of the song", died on Saturday, September 28 at age 71 due to an organ failure in a hospital in Homestead, south Florida. The singer was fighting pancreatic cancer for years, and before he died

he was admitted

for a week after a relapse of his treatment.

"He

went asleep," said his daughter Sara Sosa in an exclusive interview with Telemundo. "We

are very grateful that he left like this."

After his death, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that "the best tribute is to remind him and keep listening to his songs."

José José - El Triste 1970 #DiaDeLaMusica ? pic.twitter.com/KJydRnlmVx
— José José (@JoseJoseOficial) June 21, 2016

The Ministry of Culture of Mexico also published its condolences through social networks, differing the singer as "one of the most beloved voices

" in the country. "From the Ministry of Culture, we feel the sensitive death of singer José

Rómulo Sosa, better known as José José or the prince of the song. From the beginning of his career, the interpreter of 'El Triste' became one of the most beloved voices of Mexico. RIP,

" they wrote on Twitter.

Desde la Secretaría de Cultura lamentamos el sensible fallecimiento del cantante José Rómulo Sosa, mejor conocido como José José o el príncipe de la canción. Desde los inicios de su carrera, el intérprete de El triste se convirtió en una de las voces más queridas de México. QEPD pic.twitter.com/YRVmEAtcoC
— Secretaría de Cultura (@cultura_mx) September 28, 2019

In March 2017, José José announced that

he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Months after chemo and a surgery, his doctors were positive that he would survive. In November, the singer had a surgery at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias

Médicas

y

Nutrición in Mexico City for a little over four hours, led by oncologist Carlos Chan, a specialist in liver and pancreas cancer.

In the past,

José José has been known for having health issues which include pneumonia, diabetes and emphysema, to name a few. He stated a couple years ago that he was not ready to die. "I've got a thousand things to do at all levels, personally and professionally," he told

TVyNovelas. "I asked to

be cremated and that half of my ashes go to Veracruz and the other half to Acapulco. Although I'm not the one to decide, because I belong to the public;

then it's whatever they want. It's what God and my audience desire."