Antonio González Flores (14 November 1961 – 30 May 1995) was a Spanish singer-songwriter and actor. He was

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

on his father's side and maternal grandmother's side. Antonio is known for his

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

style of singing. His songs, which he wrote are full of urban poetry, love, nostalgia and experiences, his compositions cover a wide spectrum ranging from rock to ballads, through bossa nova and blues. He also worked sporadically as an actor, both in television series and in films like Blood and Sand (1989), starring

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

Family

Antonio belonged to one of the most influential performing arts family in Spain. The only son of singers and actors, Antonio González, referred as ''El Pescaílla'', one of the fathers of

Catalan Rumba The Catalan rumba (, ) is a genre of music that developed in Barcelona's Romani community beginning in the 1950s and 1960s. Its rhythms are derived from the Andalusian flamenco rumba, with influences from Cuban music and rock and roll. The Ca ...

and

Lola Flores María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (; 21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995) was a Spanish actress, (flamenco dancer) and singer. Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Flores became interested in the performing arts at a very young age. Known for her overwhe ...

, popularly known as ''La Faraona''. He was the brother of singer/actresses

Lolita Flores María Dolores González Flores (born 6 May 1958), better known as Lolita Flores, is a Spanish actress and singer. Biography Lolita Flores is the daughter of Lola Flores and Antonio González, sister of Antonio Flores and Rosario Flores. Sh ...

and

Rosario Flores Rosario del Carmen González Flores (born 4 November 1963), better known as Rosario Flores (), is a two-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Spanish singer and actress. She was born in Madrid, Spain, as the daughter of Antonio González ('El Pescaíll ...

. He was divorced from Ana Villa, a theatre producer with whom he had a daughter named Alba Flores, who is also an actress.

Career

His first album, ''Antonio'', was released in 1980 and included the hit "No dudaría" and a cover of

Joaquín Sabina Joaquín Ramón Martínez Sabina (born 12 February 1949) is a Spanish musician, singer, composer, and poet. His songs usually treat love, heartbreaks and society with significant use of literary figures as in the baroque-literature style. He ha ...

's "Pongamos que hablo de Madrid". The album was a complete commercial failure. His next two albums, ''Al caer el sol'' (1984) and ''Gran Vía'' (1988), also passed unnoticed. Despite his unsuccessful attempts, he was encouraged to continue his music career by his sister's album ''De ley'' (1992) which he had mostly composed. In 1994, thanks to the support of his fellow influencing musicians, he was invited to the Gijón concert of the ''Mucho más que dos'' (Much more than two) tour, where he sang "Sólo le pido a Dios" (I only ask of God) in a duet with

Ana Belén María del Pilar Cuesta Acosta (born 27 May 1951), known professionally as Ana Belén, is a Spanish actress and singer. She and her husband are considered symbols of the Spanish Transition, and her songs and albums often feature boldly-titled ...

. He achieved commercial success with his album ''Cosas mías'' (1995), which would also be his last.

Death

Shortly after the release of ''Cosas mías'', Flores' mother,

, died, sending him into a deep depression. Two weeks after his mother died, he was found dead of a drug overdose. It was ruled a suicide.

Legacy

After Flores' death, his music started to gain recognition. To date, numerous tributes and posthumous reissues have been made of his work. In 2005, on Antonio' tenth death anniversary, he was posthumously awarded a diamond disc for sales of one million copies sold for his albums. His daughter, Alba Flores received the award.

Discography

* Antonio (1980) * Al caer el sol (1984) * Gran Vía (1988) * Cosas mías (1995) ''Posthumous and tributes'' * Antología (1996) * Arriba los corazones (1999) * Para Antonio Flores (2002) * 10 años: La Leyenda de un Artista (2005)

Filmography

El taxi de los conflictos ''El taxi de los conflictos'' () is a 1969 Spanish musical comedy film starring Juanjo Menéndez and featuring a large roster of popular actors and singers, among whom are Marisol who sings her recent song "Corazón contento" and Carmen Sevilla w ...

(1969) – De Mariano Ozores hijo * Colegas (1980) Colegas – De Eloy de la Iglesia * Calé (1987) Calé – De Carlos Serrano * Sangre y arena (1989) – De Javier Elorrieta * La Femme et le pantin (1990) – De Mario Camus * Cautivos de la sombra (1993) – De Javier Elorrieta y Chechu y familia

External links

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References

1961 births 1995 suicides 1995 deaths Drug-related suicides in Spain Spanish rock singers Spanish male guitarists Romani guitarists Romani male actors Spanish Romani people Male actors from Madrid Singers from Madrid 20th-century Spanish male actors 20th-century Spanish singers 20th-century Spanish guitarists 20th-century Spanish male singers Flores family {{Spain-guitarist-stub