Overview

• The Academia de Cine announced his passing at 79, with Spanish outlets reporting he died at home in El Escorial after roughly a year with cancer.
• Poncela became a cult figure with Iván Zulueta’s Arrebato and later anchored Pedro Almodóvar’s Matador and La ley del deseo.
• He received a Goya nomination for Intacto and was honored with Sant Jordi awards, a Cóndor de Plata for Martín (Hache), and the Nacho Martínez prize.
• His Argentina ties included living in Buenos Aires in the 1990s, collaborating on Martín (Hache) and Vidas privadas, and starring in Los Fabulosos Cadillacs’ Matador video.
• Tributes poured in from the Union of Actors, Premios Feroz, the Málaga and Gijón festivals, and colleagues such as Antonio Banderas.