Spanish artist Pau Donés, lead singer of popular rock band Jarabe de Palo, died Tuesday (June 9) in Spain. He was 53 years old.
The news was announced on Donés official social media pages with the following message: “The Donés Cirera family reports that Pau Donés died on June 9, 2020, as a result of the cancer he suffered from since August 2015. We want to thank the medical team and all the staff of the Vall de Hebrón Hospital, Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi Hospital, ICO (Institut Català d’Oncologia), Servei de Paliatius of the Hospital de Viella and VHIO (Vall Hebrón Cancer Institute) for all your work and dedication during all this time. We ask for the utmost respect and intimacy in these difficult times.”
Donés was a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist known for blessing fans with timeless hits such as “La Flaca,” “Depende,” “Agua,” “Bonito,” and beyond.
In 2015, the singer and songwriter had publicly said he was retiring from his musical career after a 20th-anniversary tour, which followed his treatment for colon cancer. In 2016, it was announced that Donés was cancer-free.
Three years later, he posted a video to say “adios,” telling his followers “life is urgent; life is just one and it is now” and “it’s time to do other things.” Jarabe de Palo had since then been absent from stages and social media, with the exception of two sold-out sets the band played in December 2019 in Barcelona to raise money for cancer research.
In a video posted on Jarabe’s YouTube channel titled “Vuelvo,” in early April 2020, Donés announced a comeback. “I’m back,” he sang, whistling and playing his guitar while he glanced at a piece of paper on which he’d jotted down lyrics. Two weeks before his death, Jarabe de Palo released a new single titled “Eso Que Tu Me Das.”
In the wake of his passing, Donés colleagues, such as Alejandro Sanz, Pablo Alborán, and others, shared their condolences on social media.
“Pau, I don’t know what to say to your family,” Sanz, who collaborated with Donés in 2011’s “La Quiero A Morir,” expressed. “Because I find it hard to hold back tears, I imagine them. Thank you for the light you shed on your short but precious life and thank you for your friendship. A hug from the bottom of my soul to your family. Rest my friend.”
Read the official statement and see more reactions below:
Feliz viaje Pau. 🙏#PauDones pic.twitter.com/WWqYzKhU18
— Pablo Alborán (@pabloalboran) June 9, 2020
Una de las primeras canciones con las que aprendí a tocar la guitarra fue “La Flaca”. Nunca tuve la suerte de estar con él pero siempre lo sentí muy cerca… Cosas que tienen las personas especiales como él… Descansa en paz Pau Donés ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5OerVrRfDM
— Melendi Oficial (@MelendiOficial) June 9, 2020
Sé que morir no es más que estar un tiempo fuera.
Sé que vivir es entender que el cielo espera.
Me niego a despedirme de ti… Estés donde estés, estás y
simplemente te abrazo, querido Pau!!!!! #jarabedepalo #flaca #setequiere #paudones #estesdondeestesestas pic.twitter.com/6kN9Nk2Kh7— Rosana Arbelo (@RosanaOficial) June 9, 2020
Pau, no se que decirle a tu familia. Porque a mi me cuesta contener las làgrimas, me imagino a ell@s. Gracias por la luz que derramaste en tu corta pero preciosa vida y gracias por tu amistad. Un abrazo desde el fondo de mi alma a tu familia. Descansa amigo.
— Alejandro Sanz (@AlejandroSanz) June 9, 2020
Descansa kerido compañero . #PauDones pic.twitter.com/2MHowl9iE0
— Estopa (@estopaoficial) June 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/LatinGRAMMYs/status/1270324800968445958
Recuerdo la primera vez que conocí a Pau Donés.
Guardaba un autógrafo mío que le había firmado yo cuando aún no se dedicaba a la música.
Descansa en paz, Pau. pic.twitter.com/3soWa5ugn7— Loquillo (@Loquillo) June 9, 2020