There were hardly any labels that really fit Víctor Coyote, and that was always his best calling card. Born in Tui in 1958, he died this Thursday in a cycling accident, leaving behind a career that began in late-1970s punk and ended, as he approached seventy, without ever having stopped reinventing himself.
His musical career took off in 1979 with the founding of Los Coyotes, the band he led alongside Fernando Gilabert and from which he took his stage name. The group emerged from 'psychobilly', but soon shifted towards Latin rhythms, becoming pioneers of that sonic crossover in Spain long before others brought it into the mainstream.
Their debut album, 'Mujer y sentimiento' (1985), put them on the map of the movida, a scene straddling Vigo and Madrid in which Víctor Coyote was one of the most restless figures. The band changed its name in 1988 to Los Coyotes de Víctor Abundancia and produced one of its best-remembered songs, 'Esta noche me voy a bailar', before finally splitting up in 1992.
Videos, comics and the Xabarín Clun
The break-up of the group did not mean a pause, but a change of format. By then Víctor Coyote had already spent years combining music with comics, contributing to the magazine 'Madriz' between 1984 and 1987, and he threw himself into directing music videos and drawing.
