CEOAFRICA gathered that Singer Manolo Escobar, whose best-selling track Y Viva Espana became part of Spain's cultural identity in the 1970s, has died.

Escobar died at 82, at his home in the town of Benidorm surrounded by his family, after a long fight against cancer.

According to Jose Ignacio Wert, Spain's Culture Minister, Escobar was a symbol who lived in the musical landscape of Spaniards for half a century.

Born in a small village outside Almeria in October 1931, Escobar had a huge following in Spain in the 1960s and 1970s with hits such as El Porompompero and Mi Carro and also sang in 2010 when Spain's football team won the World Cup.

He was a well-known personality especially for his television show, Canta Manolo Escobar, and also starred in films including The Guerrillas and Father Manolo, in which he played a singing priest.

He announced his retirement from music at the end of 2012 after 50 years on the stage, and since over a month this year, was undergoing treatment, reportedly for colon cancer, at Benidorm’s Hospital Clinic and finally died two days after he returned from hospital.

Escobar is survived with a wife, Anita, and one daughter, Vanessa.