“Neither good nor bad, my relationship is neither.” Ramón Calderón, who was one of Paquirri’s closest friends and also his advisor and lawyer, has broken his silence. This is not the first time he has talked about the bullfighter and his legacy. Also from his children and the women who passed through his life. However, on few occasions it has been as clear as now with Isabel Pantoja. “At first he asked me some questions but then he broke up with me and the entire Paquirri universe for no reason,” he tells Consuelo Font for ‘LOC’.
Calderón was present in Paquirri’s life until the end. The fateful day when Paquirri died after being fucked, he received the call he would never have expected. Destroyed by the death of his friend, the lawyer now remembers the legacy left by the bullfighter and the figure of both Carmina Ordóñez and, above all, Isabel Pantoja. “I think she has not handled her widowhood well,” she states bluntly.
A few days ago it was forty years since the fight that ended the bullfighter’s life. Year after year, Pantoja continues to send a wreath of flowers to his grave to remember him. This anniversary was not going to be different. “Your wife and your son,” reads the crown. Despite not having a relationship with Kiko Rivera and the many disagreements between mother and son, the figure of Paquirri continues to be the center for Isabel Pantoja.
Demolisher with Isabel Pantoja
“He was very in love with Carmina and he also adored his children Fran and Cayetano,” says Calderón. “He was extremely familiar and had a terrible time with the separation. Then he met Isabel, whom he admired as a singer and who was also very beautiful. He married her with enormous excitement. Isabel gave him the stability he so desperately needed, as well as another son.” Paquirri’s friend openly states that the bullfighter was happy with Isabel. “He died happy,” he says.
Something different was after his death. Pantoja changed forever and from day to night. “I understand how difficult it is to overcome a tragedy like yours,” he says, but he thinks he didn’t handle it well. “I don’t understand why Isabel insisted on not giving Paquirri’s belongings to Fran and Cayetano, who were also bullfighters. I tried to convince her but there was no way.” It was the great disagreement with the bullfighter’s children that continues to this day. Fran, above all, has not missed an opportunity to claim her father’s things.
Calderón’s presence in the tonadillera’s life was common during Paquirri’s life and in the first years after her death. “Isabel appointed me as a judicial defender for her son Kiko to see them for their interests. He was one year old when he died,” he explains. The lawyer assures that Paquirri did not leave much money, he had invested in farms, and that there were no problems with the inheritance. Everything was distributed as established and both Carmina and Isabel were generous and kind.
Isabel Pantoja, ‘widow of Spain’
Paquirri’s legacy has always been very present in the life of Isabel Pantoja. Since the fateful day of her death, her husband has been a fundamental piece for the singer. He vindicates his memory, gets emotional on stage when he remembers him and shows his feelings when his anniversary arrives. Something that he shares with his son Kiko, who every September writes a text dedicated to his father and praises his memory despite the complex relationship he has with his mother.
Paquirri’s presence is such that even Jessica Bueno, mother of Kiko Rivera’s eldest son, stated a few days ago that of course her son knows who Paquirri is and that he was his grandfather. Although she is not the right person, she knows that the little boy’s father tells him things about his grandfather. Paquirri’s trail was always very strong in Cantora. In fact, the farm was paradise for the bullfighter, the place where he was truly happy.
A lot has changed since then. Isabel’s relationship with the bullfighter’s older children is null and belligerent. Things are not better between the singer and her son Kiko either. Mother and son have not spoken for years. And Pantoja also cut off all contact with people who, like Calderón, were by the bullfighter’s side during his professional life and in recent years.
