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

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

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

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

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. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...

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 ( ca, rumba catalana, ) 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

Lola Flores Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

, 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. S ...

and

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

. He was divorced from Ana Villa, a theatre producer with whom he had a daughter named

Alba Flores Alba González Villa (born October 27, 1986), known professionally as Alba Flores, is a Spanish actress. She is best known for her roles as Saray Vargas in '' Vis a Vis (Locked Up)'' and Nairobi in '' La Casa de Papel (Money Heist)''. She ident ...

, 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 about love, heartbreaks and society with a large usage of literary figures similarly to the baroque-literature st ...

'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 of 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, Madrid), known professionally as Ana Belén, is a Spanish actress and singer. Life/career Born in 1951, Ana Belén is the oldest of three children. Her father was a cook in Hotel Palace, and ...

. 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,

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 (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

* *

References

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