Manuel Arjona, a member of the original Locomía line-up, died on Wednesday (July 1) at the age of 59, Xavier Font, founder of the group, confirmed to Spanish Billboard. The news was initially reported by the newspaper The Countrywhich cited sources close to the artist. Hours later, Locomía published a farewell message on her Instagram stories.
“Today a part of our heart has gone out, but your light, Manolo, rises eternally towards the sky,” the letter says. “You were the soul, the movement and the unconditional loyalty of a dream that began in Ibiza and that changed our lives forever. We are left with your smile, with your passion for art and with each flight of those fans that you knew how to make magical. Fly high, dear companion; your essence will continue to beat strongly in every corner of our history. Always in our hearts. RIP.”
The cause of his death has not been reported so far.
According to the sources of The CountryArjona spent part of the day painting before retiring to rest in his house in Viladecans, Barcelona, where he lived.
In exclusive statements to Spanish BillboardFont remembered Arjona as an essential figure in the history of the group. “Manolo Arjona Velasco was my excellence from Locomía. My great one. It’s not fair that he leaves us so soon. Since yesterday I’ve been in shock and I’m trying to understand it, but it’s hard for me,” he said.
“Manolo was my Locomía, the beginning, my partner, my friend, my dragon and my family,” he added, calling him “the best Locomía in history… Everyone loved him.”
Between the late 80s and early 90s, Arjona was part of the founding nucleus of Locomía, a project born in Ibiza as a creative collective before making the leap into music. Together with Xavier Font, Luis Font and Gard Passchier, he helped shape a proposal that combined fashion, dance and performance. With large fans and theatrical, baroque and avant-garde costumes that would become their unmistakable hallmark, the group became one of the most unique phenomena of pop in Spanish.
The albums Taiyo (1989) and later Crazy Vox (1991) achieved enormous popularity in Spain and Latin America, with songs such as “Locomía”, “Taiyo”, “Gorbachev” and “Rumba Samba Mambo”, the last of which reached No. 27 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Billboard in 1992.
After his departure from the group, Arjona chose to stay away from public life, although his name remained linked to the history of Locomía. Interest in the group resurfaced in recent years with the documentary Locomía (2022), from Movistar Plus+, and the film Disco, Ibiza, Locomía (2024).
