The well-known Spanish singer Manolo Escobar visited Ibiza for the first time on the 8th of July, 1967 to perform at the Plaza de Toros. The artist was already a famous character thanks to his rendition of ‘The Porompompero’, a song composed by Juan Solano Pedrero, José Antonio Ochaíta and Xandro Valerio. Like other Spanish singers of the decade, Escobar also participated in films that ennobled his figure and advertised their songs. The same happened with Joan Manuel Serrat, who acted as an extra in the Orson Welles film called ‘Chimes at Midnight’ (1965). He also starred four films, one of them titled ‘La larga agonía de los peces fuera del agua’ (1970), which was shot in Ibiza. Manolo Escobar also took part as an extra character in a mythical feature film, ‘Bienvenido, Mister Marshall “(1953). Although the film career of the Spanish singer had a better commercial success than Serrat.
In the late 1980s, Escobar starred his eighteenth film, ‘Dónde está mi niño?’, that was filmed in Madrid and Ibiza with Antonio Garisa, Rafaela Aparicio, Africa Pratt and María Kosti as castmates.
The film includes shots filmed in the towns of Sant Antoni de Portmany, Sant Josep sa Talaia and Vila. It premiered on March 25, 1981 and grossed 85,592,885 pesetas, being watched by 635,591 viewers, according to the Spanish Ministry of Culture.
Commentary written by Enrique Villalonga, head of the audiovisual production Filmótica.
