Isabel Pantoja
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Isabel Pantoja | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | María Isabel Pantoja Martín |
Born | August 2, 1956 |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Website | http://www.isabelpantoja.es |
Isabel Pantoja (María Isabel Pantoja Martín b. Seville, 1956) is a popular contemporary gypsy Spanish singer, born on 2 August 1956, in the Triana district of Seville, Spain. She has released more than a dozen albums throughout a career spanning many decades, and is known for her distinctive Andalusian style.
[edit] Biography
Her husband, the bullfighter "Paquirri" (Francisco Rivera Pérez), died in the bullring on 26 September 1984, at the horns of the now infamous bull Avispado in Pozoblanco, Córdoba. She has a son with "Paquirri" named Francisco Rivera Pantoja.
The adoptive mother of a Peruvian girl, she was accused of conniving with Vladimiro Montesinos, the corrupt strong man of Alberto Fujimori's government, to speed up adoption procedures.
She became involved in a romantic relationship with Julián Muñoz, a GIL councillor in Marbella, who served as mayor after his mentor, Jesús Gil, was disqualified from office. Muñoz was arrested on charges of corruption and money laundering as part of the Operation Malaya anti-corruption investigation in July 2006, and in May 2007 Pantoja was arrested as part of the same investigation. The investigation into Pantoja centers on sums totaling one million Euros she received in cash between 2003 and 2007. Investigators suspect that the funds originated from Muñoz's illicit dealings in Marbella City Council. The money laundering allegations are not really sufficient to make her a central figure in Operation Malaya, but her arrest caused a considerable media furor in Spain, where Pantoja is constantly the subject of media interest. She was released on bail of €90,000 after one night in jail.
[edit] Discography
- 1974 - Fue por tu voz
- 1975 - Que dile y dile
- 1976 - Niña Isabela
- 1979 - 22 Abriles tengo
- 1981 - A la limón!
- 1981 - Amante, amante
- 1982 - ¡Viva Triana!
- 1983 - Cambiar por ti
- 1985 - Marinero de luces
- 1987 - Tú serás mi Navidad
- 1988 - Desde Andalucía
- 1989 - Se me enamora el alma
- 1990 - La canción española (BSO Yo soy ésa)
- 1992 - Corazón herido
- 1993 - De nadie
- 1996 - Amor eterno
- 1998 - Veneno
- 1999 - A tu vera
- 2002 - Donde el corazón me lleve
- 2003 - Soy como soy: Grandes éxitos
- 2003 - Mi Navidad flamenca
- 2004 - Buena suerte
- 2005 - By Pumpin' Dolls
- 2005 - Sinfonía de la Copla
- 2005 - Mi canción de Navidad
- 2006 - 10 boleros y una canción de amor
- 2006 - Un Trocito de Locura