The unexpected death of Encarnita Polo has caused a deep shock in the world of show business. Among those who have felt her absence the most is José Manuel Parada, close friend of the singer, who this Monday visited the set of Y ahora Sonsoles to remember his bond with her and tell how he lived the news of the fatal outcome.
During the broadcast, the communicator could not hold back his tears as he relived the moment when he found out what had happened, leaving one of the hardest testimonies since the tragedy became known.
José Manuel Parada’s reaction in the program
Right at the beginning of his speech, Parada acknowledged that he is still deeply affected by what happened: “Bad, you can’t be any other way,” he said in conversation with Sonsoles Ónega, stressing that the way in which the death occurred has been especially difficult to assimilate.
The presenter explained that he shared with Encarnita a very close friendship, forged over years of complicity, experiences and mutual support. Therefore, the impact of the news was devastating: “It is very hard to learn how someone you love has died”.
How Parada learned of Encarnita Polo’s death
The collaborator said that the news came to him while he was working at a gala in Jerez de la Frontera. It was Beatriz Trapote, Víctor Janeiro’s wife, who approached him at the end of the event to give him the tragic information.
“I froze when he told me,” he recalled. As he explained, that night he went to bed without knowing all the details. However, when he finally learned how the artist had died, his reaction was even stronger: “The world came crashing down on me. I got dizzy, I felt like throwing up. The thought of my friend in those circumstances is horrible”.
With a broken voice, Parada expressed that no one should have to face such a traumatic situation: “Death always hurts, but like this… it is inhuman”.
A tearful tribute: “I was not alone”.
Beyond the pain, Parada used his speech to defend the memory of Encarnita Polo and to respond to speculations about a possible family abandonment.
“Encarnita was not alone,” he said emphatically. He said that the artist had a wide circle of friends who loved and accompanied her, and he was one of them. In turn, he recalled how she welcomed him when he arrived in Madrid, opening the doors of her home to him from the first day: “She told me that, although I had no blood family, I had hers. I spent my first Christmas at her house”.
What happened to Encarnita Polo?
The singer and actress Encarnita Polo, born in Seville in 1939 and turned into an icon of the copla and Spanish pop, died last Friday at the Residencia Decanos de Ávila, where she was staying.
In a distressing turn of events, what was first reported as a natural death turned into a police investigation for homicide: according to sources, Polo would have been strangled in her sleep by a resident of the psychiatric unit of the same center, elderly and with apparent dementia problems.
The investigation is still ongoing and authorities are trying to determine how the alleged assailant managed to leave his module and reach the artist’s bedroom, raising serious questions about the security control inside the building.
Saying goodbye to an irreplaceable friend
Emotionally, Parada described Encarnita as a fun, generous and “unique” woman. Despite the enormous pain that her departure leaves behind, he assured that he will always remember her with a smile and hopes that tragedies like this will never happen again.
The presenter ended the interview by reiterating his affection for her and his desire for justice and clarity regarding what happened.
