The children of José José will transfer the body of their father to Mexico City next week

The Secretariat of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported in a joint statement that a ceremony for the singer will be held at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

The announcement comes after the meeting that José Joel and Marysol had with their sister Sara at the Mexican Consulate in Miami, Florida (United States), with the mediation of consul Jonathan Chait, after several days of disagreements about the whereabouts of the singer's remains, who passed away last Saturday.

"The Sosa siblings agreed to hold the funeral of their father on Friday, October 4th, at a funeral home in Miami, where the singer's immediate family will initially gather, and then receive close friends and figures from the artistic world," the press release states.

José José, who announced in 2017 that he had pancreatic cancer, arrived in Miami in early February 2018 to receive treatment and remained in Florida under the care of Sara, his youngest daughter, until his death on Saturday, September 28th, in a hospital.

The Mexican authorities affirm in the statement that there was a "consensus" among the singer's family members, known as the Prince of Song, to hold a tribute in Miami first and then another one in the Mexican capital, where there will also be a concert in his honor at the Auditorio Nacional "in the following weeks".

The Ministry of Culture offered its collaboration to coordinate the tribute, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its support for the legal procedures of the remains' transfer.

The relatives plan to bury José José's body in the Panteón Francés in Mexico City next to the remains of his mother, Margarita Ortiz, who died in 2004, according to his former manager Laura Núñez in an interview with Radio Fórmula.

Núñez also explained that the consul's work was "essential" for the children to sign a written agreement, which includes a ceremony at the Basilica of Guadalupe for the singer to "bid farewell to the people", as was "his wish".

"The meeting (at the Consulate) allowed the mourners to discuss what they want to do with their father's remains to pay tribute to him as the reference he was for romantic music and millions of people from various generations," points out the statement from the Ministry of Culture and the SRE. Source: EFE