Armando Manzanero Canché (born in Ticul Municipality, Mexico on December 7, 1935) is a Mexican musician and composer of Maya descent,widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successful composers of Latin America.He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in United States in 2014.At the age of eight he was introduced into the world of music in the Escuela de Bellas Artes (School of Fine Arts) of his native city, later furthering his musical studies in Mexico City. In 1950, at the age of fifteen, he composed his first melody titled Nunca en el Mundo (Never in the World), of which twenty-one versions in different languages have been recorded to date.The following year he began his professional career as a pianist.In 1957 he was signed as musical director by the Mexican branch of CBS International and as Musical Promoter for EMI,becoming the next year the pianist of Latin American artists such as Pedro Vargas, Lucho Gatica and Raphael.In 1959, an executive of RCA Victor urged him to record his first album of love songs, which he named Mi Primera Grabación (My First Record).In 1965 he won the first place of the Festival de la Canción (Song Festival) in Miami with the song Cuando Estoy Contigo (When I'm With You).

In 1970, his song "Somos Novios" was translated into English by Sid Wayne, composer for Elvis Presley. The English version, "It's Impossible", was performed by Perry Como and was nominated for a Grammy. This success was marred by the verdict of an American court, which ruled against Manzanero, who was accused of plagiarism and forced to return all the royalties he gained from "It's Impossible", despite the fact the original song in Spanish "Somos Novios", had been written by Manzanero twenty years before.Manzanero has composed more than four hundred songs, fifty of which have given him international fame. He has participated in numerous radio and television shows, recorded more than thirty albums, and composed the musical scores of several movies. During the fifty years of his musical career, Manzanero has given performances all over Latin America, particularly in São Paulo (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina), El Metropolitan (Mexico), the Teresa Carreño Theater of Caracas (Venezuela), Madison Square Garden (New York), and many other prestigious cities of Europe and Asia.