Víctor Balaguer (; 24 March 1921 – 17 April 1984) was a Spanish singer of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for his participation in the 1962

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. Balaguer was known as a versatile singer who moved between popular music and

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

, singing in both Spanish and

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

. Balaguer was born and 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 ...

. In 1961, he took part in the selection for Spain's debut Eurovision Song Contest entry, but lost out by one point to

Conchita Bautista María Concepción Bautista Fernández (born 27 October 1936), better known as Conchita Bautista (), is a Spanish singer and actress, best known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of and . Bautista moved from her native Anda ...

. The following year he placed two songs in the final, and " Llámame" ("Call Me") was chosen as the Spanish representative in the seventh

, held in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

on 18 March. "Llámame" was one of four songs (along with the entries from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) to finish in joint last place after failing to score any points from the juries. Following his Eurovision appearance, Balaguer returned to performing mainly in his native Catalan. He died of

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

in Barcelona on 17 April 1984, aged 63.El País obituary 18–4–84
(Spanish)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balaguer, Victor 1921 births 1984 deaths Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Spain Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1962 Deaths from cancer in Spain Deaths from colorectal cancer Singers from Barcelona 20th-century Spanish singers 20th-century Spanish male singers