Guadalajara (Mexico), Feb 18 (IANS/EFE): The idol of Mexican ranchera music, Vicente Fernandez, returned to the stage to resume his farewell tour following an operation to remove a cancerous tumour of the liver.

In his native Guadalajara, the "Charro of Huentitan" gave his first concert after the operation he underwent late last year, surrounded by an audience that at times moved him to tears.

He said he is in good health and with an urge to sing to the people. "I'm healthy, I came out clean because they took out all the bad cells," he told the media minutes before going onstage.

With a career spanning more than 47 years and dozens of discs, the singer, considered the leading interpreter of mariachi music in Mexico, announced at the beginning of 2012 that he would retire in order to spend more time with his family and to leave his fans with a good image of himself.

During his farewell tour that took him to Europe, South America and the US, the singer and actor announced he was to undergo surgery for "a little ball" that doctors found in his liver.