In 2001, with a deteriorating voice he recorded "Tenampa". It was his first studio album with mariachi and the last one of his career. It was written and produced completely by Juan Gabriel. It received poor reviews and sold only about 500,000 units. After that, he retired from recording full-length albums. His vocal problems worsened, affecting not only his ability to sing, but also to speak. In 2003, BMG released a collection of three albums entitled "El Principe Con Trio" with some of his greatest hits recorded between 1969 and 1983, separated from the original accompaniment, remastered and accompanied by the guitar trio "Los Tres Caballeros", transforming them into boleros.