Nino Bravo - Third Album

Third Album

In 1972, Bravo released his third album, "Libre" ("Free"). "Libre" proved to be both a huge success and a very controversial album for Bravo, as many Latin American dictators of the time banned the album's title song from being played in their countries, such as Cuba. As a consequence, Bravo was also banned from singing his banned songs in certain countries. His success, however, was such that he was widely known in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and among the Hispanic population of the United States. In Chile, the title song from the album, became a unifying element for all the followers of the new military regime which came into power on September 11, 1973, when stand-up comedian Bigote Arrocet sang "Libre" in honour of Bravo during the 1974 Festival de la Canción de Viña del Mar, in front of Augusto Pinochet and his wife.

In January 1973, Bravo's first daughter, Amparo, was born. A second daughter, Eva, would later arrive, but Nino never got to see her.

Bravo's words in a 1973 interview would prove to be prophetic: speaking of his last Latin American tour, he referred to a song named "Noelia" as " last song". Another song that he released that same year, "Un beso y una flor" ("A Kiss and a Flower") became one of Bravo's greatest international hits.(Loosely translated, the song's chorus was "in departure, a kiss and a flower"). On March 14 of that year, Bravo performed his last concert, before his Valencia fans.