Antonio Morales Barretto (; 10 September 1943 – 15 April 2014), better known as Junior, was a popular Filipino singer and actor based in Spain.

Early life

Morales was born in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, Philippines, to a Spanish father and a Filipina mother, the eldest of five brothers. He was born during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of t ...

, and at 15 years old his family emigrated to

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 ...

, Spain, eventually settling 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), an ...

Career

In 1958, he became part of the group Jump, a pioneering Spanish electric guitar group. During the group's popularity, he was featured in the film ''Me Enveneno De Azules'' in 1969. Some of his first hits included ''Todo Porque Te Quiero'' ("''It's All Because I Love You''") in 1969 and ''Perdóname'' (''The Snake'') in 1973. He went on to join

Los Brincos Los Brincos (The Jumps) were one of the most successful Spanish rock bands of the 1960s, and were sometimes called the “Spanish Beatles”. The group was formed in 1964. The members were Fernando Arbex (drums), Manuel González (bass), Juan Pa ...

with Juan Pardo, and his brothers Miguel and Ricky Morales would also later join the group. Morales and Juan Pardo eventually left the group to release music as Juan y Junior. One of their songs is a Spanish version of " Fool on the Hill" by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

from the LP titled ''Junior'' in 1976.

Movie career

In the 1980s, he starred in the Filipino films ''Good Morning Sunshine'' with

Vilma Santos Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto (, born November 3, 1953) is a Filipino actress, singer, dancer, TV host, producer, and politician. She served as a House Deputy Speaker since 2019 to 2022 and as the Representative of Batangas' 6th district sin ...

, and ''Disco Madhouse'', and released three albums in

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

for the Philippines. One of his most popular songs that he wrote and produced was "Yakap" (1979). That song, which he sang in his movie with Santos, became his signature song in the Philippines. Another of his hit songs there are "Excuse Me" (1974) and "But If You Leave Me" (1976).

Personal life

Morales married his wife

Rocío Dúrcal María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known professionally as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress. Widely successful in Mexico, she earned the sobriquet of ''Reina de las Rancheras'' ...

in 1970, and their first child, Spanish actress Carmen Morales de las Heras, was born in December of that year. After the birth of their second child, Antonio Morales de las Heras, in April 1974, Morales decided to give up his career to devote time to their children. Dúrcal meanwhile continued her film and singing career. In 1979 they had their third child, Shaila Morales de las Heras, who took up a singing career under the stage name of

Shaila Dúrcal Shaila de los Ángeles Morales de las Heras (born August 28, 1979), better known as Shaila Dúrcal, is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Her parents are singers Rocío Dúrcal and Antonio Morales ("Junior"). Biography She was born in Madrid ...

. Morales also managed Dúrcal for much of her career. Morales remained married to Dúrcal until her death in 2006. Her children became involved in controversial court battles over her inheritance, eventually reconciled after Carmen's wedding. On 22 November 2007, his father, Antonio Morales Majó, died of anemia, aged 91. His mother, Carmen Barretto Valdés, died in 2012, aged 97. He is the uncle of Philippine actresses

Gretchen Barretto Gretchen Castelo Barretto (; born March 6, 1970) is a Filipino actress, socialite, and philanthropist. She was launched in Regal Films' ''14 Going on Steady'' as a singer-actress, with the release of her debut single "Going Steady", which serve ...

Claudine Barretto Claudine Margaret Castelo Barretto (; born July 20, 1979) is a Filipino actress, singer, and entrepreneur. Popularly dubbed as “''The'' ''Optimum Star''” by various media outlets, Barretto has won 3 FAMAS Award including 2 Best Actress ...

and

Marjorie Barretto Marjorie Bernardine Castelo Barretto (; born 19 May 1974) is a Filipino former actress and politician. She was elected to the city councilor as representative of second district of Caloocan from 2007 to 2013. Her sisters, Claudine and Gretchen ...

Death

Junior died on 15 April 2014 in

Torrelodones Torrelodones is a municipality in the northwest of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain. It is situated 29 kilometers northwest from the city of Madrid. Because of its location between the Sierra de Guadarrama and the metropolitan area of the ...

, Spain. He was cremated and his ashes were buried at Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Discography

Singles

*"Yakap" *"But If You Leave Me" *"Excuse Me" *”It’s Only Love”

References

External links

*
Lafonoteca: Grupos de música española
{{DEFAULTSORT:Junior 1943 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Filipino male singers Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino emigrants to Spain Spanish people of Filipino descent Manila sound musicians Singers from Metro Manila Male actors from Metro Manila 20th-century Filipino male actors