On 9 October, half of his ashes were flown back to Mexico City aboard a Mexican Air Force military plane early in the day. A black hearse picked up the gold plated casket bearing his ashes at the airport and drove to the city's downtown where admirers tossed flowers and waved to the passing vehicle as it made its way to the Palace of Fine Arts. A three-hour long tribute was held at the Fine Arts Palace planned by the Mexican Culture Ministry with members of the National Symphony Orchestra played renditions of some of the icon's ballad songs including "El Triste". Artists from Mexico's the Opera Studio of Fine Arts and the Saloma Quartet also honored the singer's musical legacy during the ceremony. One of the surprises of the day was the visit of Emmanuel. Dulce and Lucia Mendez arrived together at the tribute, where they also stood guard for the coffin. Laura Bozzo, the most famous Peruvian in Mexico, was one of the guests at the event, and who also had to act as a coffin guard. Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo, was another of the people invited to say goodbye to the prince of the song. The ashes were then taken to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe for a mass, after the family led a funeral procession through the singer's former neighborhood. The ashes were interred at the Panteón Francés de San Joaquín cemetery.