Flamenco Singer Diego ‘El Cigala’ Sentenced to 2 Years for Domestic Abuse Against Ex-Partner

The Spanish flamenco singer Diego “El Cigala” was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for abuse committed against his ex-partner, flamenco singer Kina Méndez, according to Spanish media including newspapers El País, El Mundo and El Diario de Jerez. The sentence, which can be appealed, was announced on Tuesday (Dec. 17) by the press office of the High Court of Justice of Andalusía (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía).

“The judge imposes the sentence for three crimes in the field of violence against women committed in Jerez de la Frontera and a hotel in Palafrugell (Girona), and also finds him guilty of another minor and continuous offense of harassment in the domestic sphere, imposing 25 days of a permanent location, always in a different residence and away from the victim’s residence, in addition to the prohibition of communication and approaching within 200 meters of the victim for six months, a measure common to the rest of the other crimes,” according to El País.

The conviction would correspond to three specific episodes of abuse, El País reports. The first, dating from the summer of 2017, was in a hotel in Jerez de la Frontera, where he “slapped her in the face” during a discussion on “the common areas” because she had asked him to stay with her son instead of going out. The second, two years later in another hotel in Palafrugell (Girona), was “in the context of a heated verbal confrontation,” when the singer “gave her a push that made her fall to the ground, and while [she was] lying on the ground, continued hitting and kicking her body,” according to El Mundo. The third case of abuse occurred in November 2020, when, while at the house in Jerez de la Frontera, he “grabbed Méndez by the neck,” shouting, “I’ll s–t on your ancestors” because she had reproached him for using drugs in front of their children, El País reports.

Billboard Español has reached out to Diego El Cigala for comment.

During the trial in Jerez, Diego “El Cigala” declared Nov. 7, “I have never laid a hand on a woman,” according to El Diario de Jerez. Méndez, whose real name is Dolores Ruiz Méndez, said at the same hearing that she never went to the doctor with her injuries because she wanted to patch things up with her partner, with whom she said she was always “very much in love,” and that she did not report him before “out of shame.”

Diego “El Cigala,” 55, is one of the most recognized flamenco singers of recent years in Spain and abroad. Winner of five Latin Grammys, his hits include “Si Tú Me Dices Ven,” “Moreno Soy” and “Lágrimas Negras.” On the Billboard charts, his album Lágrimas Negras with Bebo Valdés gave both artists their first and only top 10 on Latin Pop Albums in 2004. In 2017, El Cigala earned his first and only top 10 on Top Latin Albums with Indestructible, which reached No. 7. He also placed Cigala & Tango on Latin Pop Albums, at No. 18, in 2010.

In 2021, the artist, whose real name is Ramón Jiménez Salazar, was already under investigation for alleged gender violence following accusations made by Méndez, who, according to El País, had been in a relationship with El Cigala since 2014.