On 1 September 2015 he had to cancel all his concerts after having an operation for colorectal cancer. On 5 April 2016 he announced via Twitter that he had recovered from his illness. However, he had a relapse a year later. He announced in October 2018 that he was to leave the music world indefinitely from January 2019. A year later, in April 2020, it was reported that Jarabe de Palo was recording a new album, "Tragas o escupes", to be launched in September. However, its launch was moved forward to May 2020. He died from the disease on 9 June 2020, aged 53.