1980s
In 1980, he first appeared on television, in José María Iñigo's show Fiesta. Manolo Escobar was called to say some kind words about the "new" artist. From then on, he was known across Spain. While not appreciated by the music establishment, his cassette tapes would be a hit in roadside gas-station shops. It was in the 1980s that El Fary released what would generally be considered his most famous song: El Toro Guapo.
In the 1990s El Fary got his break in the world of acting where he starred in the show "Menudo es mi padre" as a taxi driver - a role tailor-made for him. The show's title was itself a play on words poking fun at the protagonist's minuscule stature.
During this period El Fary was often the subject of speculation due to rumours of his son's drug addiction.
He helped to launch the career of the child singer Melody, a pop hit across the Spanish-speaking world, but after disagreement with her parents, he promoted his own teenage son Javi Cantero.
Towards the end of the decade his career was given another boost when film director Santiago Segura premiered his comedy film Torrente - The Dumb Arm of the Law (1998). The protagonist, José Luis Torrente (played by Segura himself) was a rude, racist, misogynist, corrupt policeman who was a fan of El Fary. The film featured a new song recorded especially by El Fary himself called Apatrullando la ciudad ("Patrolling The City"). Both the song and the film were hits, and spawned two sequels, the first of which - Torrente 2 - Mission in Marbella (2001) - became the most successful Spanish film (in Spain) of all time (on its release).
With the release of the third Torrente film in 2005 - Torrente 3 - The Protector - a unique piece of El Fary-related spin-off merchandising was produced: the Carrofary - a small rubber replica of the singer designed to be hung from a car's rear view mirror. In the fourth film, Torrente 4 - Lethal Crisis (2011), Torrente is visiting the grave of El Fary, who has died since the last film.
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