He an icon to many, and his name means music. Raphael has recently been awarded the Medal of Arts of the Madrid Region.

The news on recent past participants and ongoing national selections roll in non-stop when the pre-Eurovision season kicks off and it leaves little room for the classics. But some artists cannot go unnoticed, like Raphael, the singer who represented Spain twice in a row in the Eurovision Song Contest and who nowadays is the incarnation of an era in Spanish music. His has achieved a fame that few Spanish artists, or any other for that matter, have managed to reach.

He has led a life dedicated to music. And he has never stopped and he does not seem to be planning to do that shortly.

Such devotion to his art and so much accomplishment have been awarded by the Region of Madrid with the International Medal of Arts, as published by larazon.es. When presenting the reasons for this decision, the spokesperson of the regional government highlighted that Raphael is one of the most international Spanish singers and the only one with a uranium record.

Past laureates of the International Medal of Arts include names such as Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo or movie directors Carlos Saura or Luis Garcia Berlanga.

The singer Raphael was born in Jaén, but moved to Madrid early in his life and there he has worked most of his life, and there he has just been awarded for his tremendous success.

Last October he presented his latest album, De amor & desamor, which compiles some of his best songs recorded with a refreshed sound for the younger audience, but keeping his all-time fans in mind.

Raphael is also busy with his ongoing Amor & desamor Tour, which will end in April 2015. And after that, knowing him, we can expect that something else will be coming from the icon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzeVGSNyf-0

 

Raphael represented Spain in the 1966 and 1967 Eurovision Song Contests with the prominent title Yo soy aquel and Hablemos del amor respectively.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for more news on Spain and the Eurovision Song Contest.