The unmistakable voice of Vicente Castro, better known as

Parrita

, a major artist without whom it is impossible to conceive of the transition from flamenco to pop music faded.

The cantaor born in the Valencian neighborhood of Nazaret died this Monday in Terrassa (Barcelona) at the age of 63 after suffering a

stroke

.

His career is one of the most transcendental of the genre since he began to cover hits by great cantaores when he was barely reaching adolescence.

Before taking his first steps in the world of music, Parrita forged his character

among nets and hooks as a fisherman

, while preparing his leap into the world of music following in the footsteps of his older brother, El Peti, winner at the Festival de Cante de las Minas in the mid-70s. From the age of 16, his figure was common in tablaos, first covering third-party hits, later with his own repertoire and consolidating a style in which he would become an undisputed master, that of the rumba and flamenco ballads.

His first great success came in 1982 with his

version of 'Dama, dama'

, the Cecilia song that Parrita took to his land, as he also did with other iconic Spanish pop songs in 'Trocitos de Nuestro Vida', one of his last Studio albums.

His prolific discography includes collaborations with illustrious flamenco artists such as

Camarón

or

Paco de Lucía

, to whom he dedicated his latest album, 'Copla flamenca'.

In recent years he was preparing a new LP of duets, 'La ciudad de los abrazos', whose recording was left unfinished due to successive health problems.

At its peak,

Parrita sang at the Olympia in Paris

, the mythical Parisian concert hall where the legends of the French chanson were enshrined and ended up opening up to other styles such as flamenco.

But the most relevant part of his career is having woven the umbilical cord between cante purists and artists such as

Alejandro Sanz

or

Antonio Orozco

, indebted to Parrita's art, to take flamenco to new horizons.

His influence continues to this day, with

Rosalía

rescuing a piece of the lyrics of 'Cositas de yesterday' in her performance at the MTV EMA Awards, the palpable demonstration that her music has been capable of transcending times and styles.

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