Pau Donés, Lead Singer of Spanish Rock Band Jarabe de Palo, Dies of Cancer at 53

Spanish artist Pau Donés, lead singer of the rock band Jarabe De Palo, has died at the age of 53.

Donés died of cancer on Tuesday, according to an announcement on the band’s official social media accounts.

“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,” the post read, translated from Spanish. “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.”

The singer-songwriter produced a number of hits during his time with Jarabe De Palo, including “La Flaca,” “Depende,” “Agua” and “Bonito.”

Donés publicly retired from his music career in 2015 following the band’s 20th anniversary tour. Around that same time, Donés began receiving treatment for colon cancer, Billboard reports. A year later, the band announced that he was cancer-free. Jarabe De Palo has not performed much since, aside from two sold-out sets in Barcelona this past December aimed at raising money for cancer research.

In early April, however, Donés announced a comeback in a YouTube video. “I’m back,” he sang in the video, titled “Vuelvo.”

He continued, singing in Spanish, “If life hits you, give me a guitar I sing you a song / If life hits you, I wrote some verses to make your heart happy / If life hits you, I bring a recipe that will make you feel better / If life hits you, Jarabe de Palo.”

In May — two weeks before his death — Jarabe de Palo released a new single, “Eso Que Tu Me Das.”

Many Spanish musicians have paid tribute to Donés on social media following the news of his death.

“Pau, I don't know what to say to your family. Because I find it hard to hold back tears, I imagine them,” Alejandro Sanz wrote on Twitter. “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.”

Spanish singer-songwriter Melendi also shared a note about Donés: “One of the first songs with which I learned to play the guitar was ‘La Flaca,’" he wrote. “I was never lucky to be with him but I always felt very close ... Things that special people like him have ... Rest in peace Pau Donés.”