Antonio Molina
Who is Antonio Molina?
Antonio Molina de Hoces was born on March 9, 1928 in the Málaga neighbourhood of Huelín, popularly known as “de las fatigas,” into a humble family. From the age of ten he had to work at very different trades — delivering milk, tending pigs and rabbits, waiting tables, apprenticing as an upholsterer — before he could devote himself to music, which shaped a tenacious character closely tied to his working-class roots.
While working as a waiter, the teacher Legaza heard him sing and was so impressed that he decided to become his mentor, encouraging him to train at a music academy and opening the doors of the profession to him. At barely fourteen he moved to Madrid in search of opportunities, a decisive step that would mark the start of his artistic career.
Career
The turning point came in 1949, when at nineteen he won a Radio España competition worth 150 pesetas and a trip — a modest prize that nonetheless opened the door to his first recording contract with a Barcelona label. Between 1951 and 1952 he recorded titles such as “El agua del avellano” and “El macetero,” and that same year made his film debut in the eponymous film “El macetero.” In 1952 he appeared at Madrid’s Teatro Fuencarral with the show “Así es mi cante,” and two years later premiered his own production, “Hechizo,” at the Teatro Calderón.
Between 1956 and 1967 he toured Spain and the Americas with large-scale shows, becoming one of the first artists to perform before audiences of more than ten thousand people in bullrings converted into stages. He formed an artistic partnership with Juanito Valderrama for years and, in his 1950s recordings, was accompanied by Niño Ricardo on guitar. He retired for the first time in 1967, briefly reappeared in 1986 with “Adiós mi España,” and brought his career to a definitive close in 1989.
Palos and discography
His repertoire was extraordinarily broad, spanning flamenco cante as well as copla and canción española: alegrías, serranas, verdiales, pregón, colombianas, milongas, seguiriyas, fandangos, fandanguillos, guajiras, tonadilla and cuplé, all sustained by an unmistakable falsetto of near-inexhaustible technique. Over the course of his career he recorded more than a thousand titles, among them hits such as “Soy minero,” “Adiós España,” “Yo quiero ser matador,” “Caballito bandolero” and “La estudiantina.” Cinema cemented his status as a popular star through films including “El pescador de coplas” (1953), “Esa voz es una mina” (1955), “Malagueña” (1955), “La hija de Juan Simón” (1956), “Café de Chinitas” (1957) and “El Cristo de los Faroles” (1957).
Legacy
In 1989, already diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, he received a Platinum Record in recognition of his entire career; he always attributed the decline of his voice to forty years of continuous vocal effort rather than to other habits. He died in Madrid on March 18, 1992. His influence carried on through five of his eight children, who followed the path of music, and through his granddaughter Olivia Molina, an actress, extending a true artistic dynasty that remains linked to his name today.