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\n\tThe Spanish flamenco singer Diego \u201cEl Cigala\u201d was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for abuse committed against his ex-partner, flamenco singer Kina M\u00e9ndez, according to Spanish media including newspapers El Pa\u00eds<\/a><\/em>, El Mundo<\/a><\/em> and El Diario de Jerez<\/a><\/em>. The sentence, which can be appealed, was announced on Tuesday (Dec. 17) by the press office of the High Court of Justice of Andalus\u00eda (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andaluc\u00eda).<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe 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\u2019s 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,\u201d according to El Pa\u00eds<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tThe conviction would correspond to three specific episodes of abuse, El Pa\u00eds<\/em> reports. The first, dating from the summer of 2017, was in a hotel in Jerez de la Frontera, where he \u201cslapped her in the face\u201d during a discussion on \u201cthe common areas\u201d 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 \u201cin the context of a heated verbal confrontation,\u201d when the singer \u201cgave her a push that made her fall to the ground, and while [she was] lying on the ground, continued hitting and kicking her body,\u201d according to El Mundo<\/em>. The third case of abuse occurred in November 2020, when, while at the house in Jerez de la Frontera, he \u201cgrabbed M\u00e9ndez by the neck,\u201d shouting, \u201cI\u2019ll s\u2013t on your ancestors\u201d because she had reproached him for using drugs in front of their children, El Pa\u00eds<\/em> reports. <\/p>\n \n\tBillboard Espa\u00f1ol<\/em><\/em> has reached out to Diego El Cigala for comment.<\/p>\n \n\tDuring the trial in Jerez, Diego \u201cEl Cigala\u201d declared Nov. 7<\/a>, \u201cI have never laid a hand on a woman,\u201d according to El Diario de Jerez<\/em>. M\u00e9ndez, whose real name is Dolores Ruiz M\u00e9ndez, 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 \u201cvery much in love,\u201d and that she did not report him before \u201cout of shame.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDiego \u201cEl Cigala,\u201d 55, is one of the most recognized flamenco singers of recent years in Spain and abroad. Winner of five Latin Grammys, his hits include \u201cSi T\u00fa Me Dices Ven,\u201d \u201cMoreno Soy\u201d and \u201cL\u00e1grimas Negras.\u201d On the Billboard<\/em> charts, his album L\u00e1grimas Negras with Bebo Vald\u00e9s gave both artists their first and only top 10 on Latin Pop Albums<\/a> in 2004. In 2017, El Cigala earned his first and only top 10 on Top Latin Albums<\/a> with Indestructible, which reached No. 7. He also placed Cigala & Tango on Latin Pop Albums, at No. 18, in 2010.<\/p>\n \n\tIn 2021, the artist, whose real name is Ram\u00f3n Jim\u00e9nez Salazar, was already under investigation<\/a> for alleged gender violence following accusations made by M\u00e9ndez, who, according to El Pa\u00eds<\/em>, had been in a relationship with El Cigala since 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n