Pedro Pubill Calaf ( ; 24 March 1935 – 27 August 2014), better known as Peret, was a Spanish

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 ...

singer, guitar player and composer 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 roc ...

from

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the ''comarca'' of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and ...

(

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 c ...

). Known for his 1971 single, "Borriquito" (

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

), Peret represented Spain at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1974 The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Brighton, United Kingdom and was organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporati ...

with the song "

Canta y sé feliz Canta is a town in the Lima Region, in western Peru. The town is located on the Chillón River and is the capital of the Canta Province. With a population of 2,385 ( 2017 census), it is also the capital of Canta District. It is frequently visite ...

" and performed during the closing ceremony at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In 2001, Peret recorded and released ''Rey De La Rumba'' (''King of the Rumba'') an album of updated versions of his older songs with guest musicians including

Jarabe de Palo Jarabe de Palo ("Wooden Stick Syrup" or, by virtue of the Spanish expression "dar un jarabe de palo", i.e. a "hell of a beating") were a Spanish rock band founded in 1996, once led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Pau Donés, who, on 9 June ...

, El Gran Silencio,

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

of the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

, and more. In 1982 Peret withdrew from the music industry, joining the Iglesia Evangélica de Filadelfia, a large religious community of the Spanish Roma (gypsies) devoting himself in the following years exclusively to preaching and religious activities. After leaving the church in 1991, he resumed his music activity and recorded new albums. In 1992, he was honored for all his body of work when he sang as representative of Catalonia at the Olympic Games in Barcelona during the closing ceremonies. Peret died in Barcelona in 2014 from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

, aged 79.

Discography

Vinyl albums

*1967: ''Peret'' (Discophon) *1968: ''Rumba pa'ti'' (Discophon) *1968: ''Una lágrima'' (Vergara) *1969: ''Lamento gitano'' (Discophon) *1969: ''Gipsy Rhumbas'' (Discophon) *1970: ''Canta para el cine'' (Vergara) *1971: ''Borriquito'' (Ariola) *1972: ''Una lágrima'' (Ariola) *1973: ''Mi santa'' (Ariola) *1974: ''Lo mejor de Peret'' (Ariola) *1974: ''Peret y sus gitanos'' (EMI) *1974: ''Canta y sé feliz'' (Ariola) *1978: ''Saboreando'' (Ariola) *1978: ''Lágrimas negras'' (Ariola) *1978: ''El joven Peret'' (CBS) *1980: ''El jilguero'' (Belter) *1981: ''De cap a la palla'' (Belter) *1988: ''De coco a la paja'' (Belter)

CD albums

*1991: ''No se pué aguantar'' (PDI)* *1992: ''Gitana hechicera'' (PDI)* *1992: ''Rumbas de la clausura'' a co-album with Los Manolos and Los Amaya (PDI)* *1993: ''Cómo me gusta'' (PDI)* *1995: ''Que disparen flores'' (PDI)* *1996: ''Jesús de Nazareth'' (PDI)* *2000: ''Rey de la Rumba'' (Virgin) *2007: ''Que levante el dedo'' (K Industria Cultural) *2009: ''De los cobardes nunca se ha escrito nada'' (Universal Music) *Re-released in 2008 by Picap

Posthumous albums

*2014: ''Des del Respecte / Desde el Respeto (Satélite K)

Compilation albums

*1979: ''El cancionero nº 1'' (Belter) *1982: ''El forat'' (Impacto) (Cassette release - Side A in Catalan, side B tracks from ''De cap a la palla'' and ''De coco a la paja'') *1989: ''Rumbas de oro'' (Divucsa) *1990: ''Peret es la rumba'' (Ariola) *1994: ''La vida por delante'' (Sony/BMG) *1996: ''Siempre Peret'' (PDI) *1998: ''Sus grabaciones en Discophon'' (Rama Lama/Blanco y Negro) *2000: ''Don Toribio Carambola'' (Arcade) *2000: ''Chica Vaivén'' (Sony/BMG) *2000: ''Número 1 en rumba'' (PDI) *2001: ''La salsa de la rumba'' (Sony/BMG) *2004: ''Singles Collection'' (Divucsa) *2006: ''Mano a mano'' (Divucsa) *2008: ''Sus 20 grandes éxitos'' (O.K.)

Singles

(Selective international hits) *1971: "Borriquito" *1971: "Voy voy" *1972: "Ni fu ni fa" *1973: "El mosquito" *1974: "

" *1988: "Borriquito" (Mix) other hits: *1964: "Sapore di sale" / "Salomé" / "Qué suerte" / "Si yo fuera" (Discophon), 1964) *1965: "Jugando" / "Caliente" (Ariola, 1975) *1978: "Saboreando" *1980: "Pa amb oli" / "De cap a la palla" (Belter) *1982: "El forat" / "Estem fotuts" *2001: "Marujas asesinas" (Virgin)

Charts

Filmography

*1969: ''Amor a todo gas'' *1970: ''El meson del gitano'' *1971: ''A mi las mujeres ni fu ni fa'' *1973: ''Que cosas tiene el amor'' *1974: ''Si fulano fuese mengano'' ;Various supporting roles and extras *1963: ''Los Tarantos'' *1967: ''Las cuatro bodas de Marisol'' *1968: ''El taxi de los conflictos'' *1968: ''Un dia despues de agosto'' *1969: ''Alma gitana'' *2001: ''Marujas asesinas'' *2008: ''Lazos rotos''

Related bibliography

*''Peret, l'ànima d'un poble.'', by

Cèlia Sànchez-Mústich Cèlia Sànchez-Mústich (born 9 December 1954) is a Spanish poet and writer in the Catalan language. She has lived in Sitges since 2001. Biography Cèlia Sànchez-Mústich undertook musical studies (piano, guitar, harmony) at the Arts of the Rh ...

. Edicions 62 (2005) *''Peret: Biografía de la Rumba Catalana.'', by Juan Puchades. Global Rhythm Press (2011).

References

External links

*
Peret performing "El Muerto Vivo" with ''Ojos de Brujo'' in 2009
{{Authority control 1935 births 2014 deaths Composers from Catalonia Musicians from Catalonia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1974 People from Mataró Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Spain Spanish guitarists Spanish male guitarists Ariola Records artists Spanish Protestants Spanish Romani people Deaths from lung cancer in Spain 20th-century Spanish musicians Catalan rumba 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Spanish male singers 20th-century Spanish singers Romani singers