José Luis Uribarri facts for kids

José Luis Uribarri Grenouillou (born August 9, 1936 – died July 23, 2012) was a famous Spanish television presenter and director. He worked for TVE, which is a big TV channel in Spain. He was the Spanish commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest many times, from 1969 to 2010. People in Spain often called him La voz de Eurovisión, which means The Voice of Eurovision.

Biography

Early life and TV beginnings

José Luis Uribarri was born in Ávila, a city in Spain. After finishing school, he started studying law. However, he decided to change his path in 1956. He began working as a radio speaker for Radio Juventud and then for Radio Intercontinental.

In 1958, he started his career at Televisión Española (TVE). He took part in a talent show called Caras nuevas (New Faces). After this, TVE hired him. He quickly became one of the most popular TV presenters in Spain. In 1966, he won a special award called Premios Ondas for his work. One of his most successful shows was a music program called Aplauso. He directed and hosted this show between 1978 and 1983.

The Voice of Eurovision

In 1968, Spain won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. The song was "La, la, la" by Massiel. This meant Spain would host the next contest in 1969. José Luis Uribarri took over as the Spanish commentator for Eurovision that year. He also commented on the 1970 Contest.

He returned to commentate on Eurovision from 1974 to 1976. After a break, he came back in 1992. He continued to be the commentator until the 2003 Contest. This long period made him well-known as the voice of Eurovision. He also returned for the 2008 and 2010 Contests.

Besides commenting, Uribarri also helped with the Spanish national finals for Eurovision. These are shows where Spain chooses its song for the contest. For example, he presented Pasaporte a Dublín in 1971. In 1998, he created a four-part TV series called Eurovisión Siglo XX. This series looked at the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. He also directed the national finals Eurocanción 2000 and Eurocanción 2001. He sometimes appeared as a judge in these national finals, too. In 2009, he led the jury for Eurovisión 2009: El retorno. He was also a member of the Spanish jury at the main Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Later career and passing

In November 2010, José Luis Uribarri started working for a TV channel called 13 TV. He hosted a movie show called Nuestro Cine (Our Cinema). Because of this new job, he decided not to commentate on the 2011 Contest. He wanted to focus on his projects at 13 TV. Another commentator, José María Íñigo, took over his role for Eurovision.

José Luis Uribarri had a serious health issue on July 18, 2012. He passed away on July 23, 2012, in a hospital in Madrid. He was 75 years old.

See also

In Spanish: José Luis Uribarri para niños