José Luis Perales Is Not Dead: ‘I’m More Alive Than Ever’

Contrary to reports published Monday afternoon (Aug. 7) by multiple media outlets, Spanish singer/songwriter José Luis Perales is not dead.

In fact: “I’m more alive than ever,” the 78-year-old superstar said in a video he posted on his official Instagram account denying the news published about his supposed death. Not only is Perales not dead, but he’s on vacation in London.

“Hello, friends, I am speaking from London, a beautiful place where I have spent a few days with my children and my wife,” he says in Spanish, looking directly at the camera. “And suddenly we find out that someone, a very bad idea, has said that I have died. But I’m more alive than ever. Happier than ever. And tomorrow we will be seeing each other in Spain. Thanks to all of you who have tried to find out if this thing was true.”

Perales, who’s written legendary hits like “Porque Te Vas,” made popular by Jeanette in 1976; “Y Cómo Es Él” (which was re-recorded by Marc Anthony); and “Canción de Otoño,” among many others, spoke to Billboard at length in 2020, when he published the album Mirándote a los Ojos (2019), which included new versions of many of his hits. In that interview, he said that he did not like being called “legendary.”

“Legendary doesn’t sound right,” he said. “I would say that I am a storyteller with an age, but not excessive, and I am not the singer that people think. I’m a storyteller because my songs are usually people’s stories, my stories, to which I put music. I’m like a storyteller. A chronicler.” Listen to the complete interview here.

Watch Perales’ message to fans below: