![Pedrito Rico - Antena, 1963](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Pedrito_Rico_-_Antena%2C_1963.jpg)
Pedro Rico Cutillas, better known as Pedrito Rico (7 September 1932, in
Elda
Elda is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a conurbat ...
,
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
– 21 June 1988, in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
) was a Spanish singer, dancer and actor who spent most of his career in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Biography
In 1955 he debuted at the
Ruzafa Theater in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, then moved to the
Price Theater in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. In 1956 he was hired by an Argentine theatrical entrepreneur to perform at the Avenida Theater, the theater of zarzuelas, located in a place where a large Spanish community is concentrated in the city of Buenos Aires. In 1958 he was awarded the
Golden Record in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and the
Guaicaipuro
Cacique Guaicaipuro was a legendary native (indigenous) Venezuelan chief of both the Teques and Caracas tribes. Though known today as Guaicaipuro, in documents of the time his name was written Guacaipuro.http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/handle/ ...
in Venezuela as the best foreign interpreter.
It has been argued that Pedrito Rico was just one Argentinian more for his continuous and successful visits to that country. He sang Spanish songs,
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
, melodic and sometimes also new olero or tropical songs with Spanish-style arrangements and adapted to his particular way of singing. He had started very young and was consecrated in Argentina with the company "Romería", in Avenida Theater, in 1956. He immediately won the favor of the public, which gave him the alias of "El Ángel de España", which subsequently served as title to one of his films.
He had an excellent voice and was a good dancer, taking into account that he made big efforts to always present his performances in very good conditions, both physical in general and vocal in particular. His colorful performances and colorful shirts were famous, as well as his special make-up, which served to evoke perverse comments and bitter criticism from his detractors, from those who did not consider him a true Spaniard. However, none of this prevented him from filling the theaters where he appeared or that his performances and his songs were the object of great acclaim, as well as positive journalistic reviews of entertainment. Being a homosexual—at that time he maintained a relationship with
Miguel de Mairena—he suffered serious problems during the dictatorship of
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
in Barcelona, where he was frequently harassed and detained,
a situation that forced him to move to America, a continent in which he had an assured triumph. It was speculated that he imitated ''Antonio Amaya'', who was known as "El Gitanillo de Bronce". When Antonio Amaya visited America, he was not liked because it was believed that he imitated Pedrito Rico.
He died in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. The singer was under medical treatment due to severe anemia that he had suffered for a year. A relapse in his state of health caused his death minutes before three in the morning of June 21, 1988. He had been greatly affected by the death of his mother, which occurred the previous year. It is said that he was one of the pioneers of the Spanish song, of which he recorded several dozen albums, with hits such as La Campanera, Dos Cruces and Mi Escapulario. Among his best-known songs are also The Ship of Oblivion, Black Dove, But Pray For Me, Paper Doll, Only Smile and Consuelo The Cantaora. The movie "The Angel of Spain" gave him great popularity throughout Latin America, where he was already known by this name.
Pedrito Rico was distinguished in 1980 with the Medal of Merit at Work for his dedication to Spanish folk music. The mortal remains of the singer were transferred to his hometown, where they were buried. In
Elda
Elda is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a conurbat ...
, the loss of the singer caused a deep impression. The ardent chapel, after the arrival of his mortal remains, was installed in the headquarters of the local Assembly of The Red Cross, as his house was insufficient to receive the testimony of pain from his friends and admirers.
Pedrito Rico used to spend a summer season in his hometown, although his favorite place to spend the summer was the town of Benidorm, also in
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
, where he had a house. He also owned another residence in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, where he spent most of the year and was his center of operations during his seasons of performances.
Filmography
*
Vestida de novia(1966)''
*
Buenas noches, Buenos Aires' (1964)
*
Feria en Sevilla' (1962)
*
Venga a bailar el rock' (1957)
*
El ángel de España' (1957)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rico, Pedr
1932 births
1988 deaths
People from Elda
Spanish male dancers
Spanish male actors
20th-century Spanish male singers
20th-century Spanish singers
Spanish expatriates in Argentina