Isabel Pantoja
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Daughter and granddaughter of artists, Isabel Pantoja had a hard
childhood because of economic problems in her family. At 7 years old
she appeared the very first time on a stage. In 1969 her father got
hepatitis and she went to Palma de Mallorca with her grandfather. Soon
she was acting with her cousin Antonio Cortés "Chiquetete" and his wife
Amparo, earning 500 pesetas a day in the "tablao" (flamenco bar) "El
Rombo". After one week she was one of the singers. Some time later, her
cousin "Chiquetete" was suggested to record a music album and Isabel
participated in it. It was her first recording. When their contract was
over, they all went back to Sevilla, and there they were made another
contract by Baldomero Negrón at his "tablao" "El Embrujo". In "El
Embrujo", Isabel danced and clapped, while her cousin Antonio Cortés
(future "Chiquetete") was the singer. She was paid 250 pesetas a day.
Baldomero Negrón fell in love with Isabel, and encouraged her to sing.
She sang themes from Juanita Reina, Marifé de Triana and Rocío Jurado (her favourite
singers). Negrón worked hard to promote Isabel, presenting her to
Rafael de León and Juan Solano, among others, to judge her worth. Then she moved
to Madrid, where she still had a hard life. She lived with her mother
in a modest boarding house. Her father, who felt better, moved from
Sevilla and got a contract with "El Corral de la Morería", a
prestigious "tablao" where great flamenco stars performed for exclusive
clients including Hollywood actors. Juan Pantoja asked Manolo del Rey,
owner of "El Corral de la Morería", to help her daughter. Del Rey made
her a contract for 500 pesetas a day. As Maribel, she started dancing
only, but one day she was asked to sing. Finally, she ended up earning
1,500 pesetas a day. Juan Solano, dazzled by his young pupil, stopped
composing for Rocío Jurado to devote all his attention to Isabel. A little
while later, her father felt very bad and went back to Sevilla where he
died. Isabel was with him until his end. In 1974, she recorded her
first album alone, where Juan Solano prepared all the songs for her. The A
side started with a song made up of lyrics by Rafael de León and music by
Juan Solano, which had had little success with Concha Márquez Piquer: "Fue por tu voz".
From Solano and De León were also "Ten compasión de mí" and "Un rojo,
rojo clavel" (being the latter a great success with Rocío Jurado). All the
following songs were from José Antonio Ochaíta, Xandro Valerio and Juan Solano. On 26 May 1980,
Isabel Pantoja was at Jerez de la Frontera, during the local
festivities, and after a bullfight she found at the hall of the Hotel
Jerez a well-known reporter, Manuel Gallardo, who invited her to go
upstairs to congratulate the bullfighter Paquirri. Their meeting was
short, but there was a love at first sight. On 30 April 1983 they got
married. She spent the summer of 1983 singing all over Spain. In
August, being pregnant of 3 months, she announced that she would
continue singing only until the autumn, to retire later. The baby was
born on 9 February 1984, and he was given the name of Francisco José.
The months that followed were full of happiness for the little family.
But on 26 September 1984 a tragedy occured. Paquirri, who was in a
bullfight in Pozoblanco (Córdoba), was gored by a bull named Avispado
and died while he was being moved to the Hospital of Córdoba. It took
Isabel more than one year to go back to the stage. During that time she
only allowed one interview, on 25 November 1985, where she presented
her song "Marinero de luces", composed by José Luis Perales. Her new album was
made of songs which reflected her state of mind. Some days later, in
December, she presented all the songs during a benefit gala for the
"Fundación Reina Sofía" at the theatre Lope de Vega, in Madrid. The
kings of Spain Juan Carlos de Borbón and Sofía de Grecia met her in a private audience at the
Palacio de la Zarzuela. And from that moment until present day Isabel
has got success after success and has become a solid first star. In
1990, the cinematographic production company of the singer Víctor Manuel
suggested her to be the main actress in Yo soy ésa (1990), directed by Luis Sanz,
discoverer of stars and expert on the Andalusian song. The film was a
great success, with more than 1,500,000,000 pesetas at the box office.
At the same time, a double album appeared with 20 songs, although not
all of the songs appeared in the film. The album was titled "La Canción
Española", and the recording was made together with the Royal
Philarmonic Orchestra, conducted by Luis Cobos. On the spring of 1991, she
was the first star of her second film, _Día que nací yo, El (1991)_
, where there was less singing and more acting for her. Although
she has announced plans to retire soon to spend more time with her
family, Isabel has continued her triumphant career. Only Rocío Jurado and
her have maintained during these recent times the sacred flame of myth
and the live legend of the Spanish song.