Author of immortal lyrics of the Cádiz Carnival, with more than 40 groups behind him and a premature death due to illness that occurred in May 2019 at just 51 years old. The comparsista Juan Carlos Aragón had all the makings of becoming a legend. That is what happened, with countless tributes, a school bearing his name, memoirs, and documentaries. The last event, which was scheduled for this Sunday, was perhaps the most important: the unveiling of his star on the Carnival Walk of Fame, at the doors of the Gran Teatro Falla in Cádiz. But the City Council has indefinitely suspended sine die the event after Paqui Pino, the artist’s ex-partner, sent the council the sentence revealing that Aragón was convicted in 2010 for physical and psychological abuse towards her.
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Pino sent that ruling last Saturday along with a batch of documentation — a custody and guardianship claim, a report of injuries from abuse with a protection order, and the aforementioned sentence — along with a handwritten letter in which she states that Aragón “is not a role model due to his repeated conduct of physical and emotional abuse.” “I was tired of so many tributes to a person who didn’t deserve them. Now the limit has been crossed. I had never spoken about this before. I am calm and serene,” the victim explained this Sunday in a phone conversation with EL PAÍS.
Sentence 144/2010 from the Criminal Court Number 1 of Cádiz, which this media outlet also accessed, dates back to August 30, 2005. That day, at an undetermined time, Aragón began an argument with his then partner, gave her “several pushes, one especially violent to the right arm,” which caused injuries to that arm, the left arm, the right leg, a foot, and abrasions on the neck. Additionally, the Carnival author also sent “various intimidating messages to the victim,” one of which mentioned that a sports store “sold a rifle.” For all this, the comparsista was sentenced to one year in prison — in addition to a restraining order of one year and 11 months — for a crime of injuries in the family environment, another of minor threats, and a continuous offense of unjust humiliations.
The revelation of this sentence — also sent to Adelante Cádiz and the PSOE — has caused an earthquake in the Carnival world, where Aragón was revered for being the author of immortal lyrics of the festival, such as those of the chirigota Los Yesterday (1999) or Los Ángeles Caídos (2001). In fact, some of Aragón’s lyrics, known for his combative left-wing speeches and support for social rights, were dedicated to the scourge of gender violence. However, the rumor that the comparsista had a troubled period in the past was not entirely unknown in Cádiz’s carnival circles. “It was an open secret, I made it official. Everyone knew,” says Pino, who claims to have passed that past through a journalist to the previous City Council government.
However, this is the first time Pino has dared to speak out and publish the sentence or the custody claim of the son they had in common, which reveals that in February 2006 Aragón had abandoned family obligations regarding child support. “The myth was created because he died. Over the years, I thought it shouldn’t be that way,” explains Pino. The woman, a teacher by profession, also denounces how in these years one of the tributes included renaming one of the city’s schools, Andalucía, after the famous composer, even though the school principal knew about the sentence, according to her statement in a report previewed by Diario de Cádiz.
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When Aragón died at 51, he had already rebuilt his life with a new partner, Luisa Tejonero, with whom he had another child. The widow is the president of the Juan Carlos Aragón Foundation, an entity that has received subsidies, as Pino denounces. Tejonero has explained on her profile on the social network X that the entity is reviewing the documentation sent by Pino to analyze “its possible implications.” Additionally, the foundation claims the initiative of having “temporarily postponed” the tribute event, while “reaffirming its commitment to defending the cultural, human, and artistic legacy” of the comparsista.
The same social networks that mourned the artist’s premature death have been filled in recent hours with messages of support for Pino. In the same vein, both the Adelante party and the PSOE have expressed that tributes to Aragón’s figure should be suspended. For now, the Cádiz City Council has only issued the brief statement it sent last Saturday in which, in a very vague way, they announced the postponement “in response to a letter received from a person regarding a matter that occurred in the family environment and accompanied by various documents.” It remains to be seen now what the council will do with the plaque — already placed but covered — and what will become of the artist’s cultural legacy.
The phone number 016 assists victims of gender-based violence, their families, and their environment 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in 53 different languages. The number is not recorded on the phone bill, but the call must be deleted from the device. Contact can also be made via email016-online@igualdad.gob.esand WhatsApp at 600 000 016. Minors can contact the ANAR Foundation phone 900 20 20 10. In an emergency, call 112 or the National Police (091) and Civil Guard (062) numbers. If calling is not possible, the ALERTCOPS app can be used to send an alert signal to the police with geolocation.
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