Peret

3/24/1935 – 8/27/2014Mataró, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

Pedro Pubill Calaf, better known as Peret, was a Spanish Romani singer, guitar player, composer and actor, called the King of Catalan Rumba. Known for his 1971 single “Borriquito,” Peret represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 with the song “Canta y sé feliz.” In 1982, Peret withdrew from the music industry, joining the Iglesia Evangélica de Filadelfia, a large religious community of the Spanish gypsies, devoting himself in the following years exclusively to preaching and other religious activities. After leaving the church in 1991, he resumed his music activity and recorded new albums. In 1992, he sang at the Barcelona Olympic Games during the closing ceremonies. Peret died in Barcelona in 2014 from lung cancer, aged 79.