Parchis was a 1980s children's group from Spain which enjoyed moderate success in Latin American countries around the world.
The group's name is a reference to the board game, Parcheesi (translated as Parchís in Spanish), where each player represents a different colored pawn (red, yellow, blue, and green). In the same way, each member of the group dressed in one of these four colors with the fifth member representing the die.
Parchis' original five members were Constantino Fernández Fernández (the red pawn), Yolanda Ventura Román (the yellow pawn), Oscar Ferrer Cañadas (the blue pawn), Gemma Pratts Tremens (the green pawn), and David Muñoz Forcada (the rolling die, which is singular for dice).
After several line-up changes, the group disbanded in 1986 with various members continuing successful careers in the world of entertainment.
Parchis was created in 1979, after executives from the Belter Records company placed a newspaper ad in Barcelona, asking children to attend auditions to form a musical group. At first, Belter Records intended to employ the group members during summers only; the company's executives figured out that would be the best season of the year for Parchis albums and concerts to sell.
Parchis was neither a boy or girl band. Eventually, the band expanded to have six members at the same time. Gemma Pratts Teremens, David Muñoz Forcada, Oscar Ferrer Cañadas, Constantino Fernández Fernández (better known as Tino), and Yolanda Ventura (daughter of the well known trompet player, Rudy Ventura) were the first five kids to be chosen as members of Parchis.
Tino was the heartthrob of the group, Gemma the shy one, Yolanda every boy's crush, Frank who in 1979 joined after Oscar left, was the extroverted red head, and David, a blonde haired boy who was the best dancer and the life of the party.
Parchis' first single, "En La Armada", was a Spanish version of the Village People's disco hit, "In the Navy". "En La Armada" became a major hit in Spain, giving way for a number of important music composers to start working with Parchis. "En La Armada" was followed by what was arguably the group's biggest hit, "Durante la Espera de Parchis" ("During Parchis' Wait"). This song became a number one hit in Argentina. Later on, the group also became successful in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and other Latin American countries.
Personal problems forced Oscar Ferrer Caňadas out of the band in 1981. He was substituted by Francisco Díaz Terez, known by fans simply as "Frank". Brothers Miguel Ángel Gómez Cambronero (born in Germany) and Jesús Gómez Cambronero joined the band after Tino and David left the group in 1983.
Losing Tino proved lethal to the group, however. With Menudo reaching unprecedented (for a Hispanic children's music group) success levels in Latin America as well as in Spain, and other Latin American groups like Los Chamos and Los Chicos also providing Parchis with competition, and with Ferrer Cañadas' considerable amount of fans gone, Parchis began to wane.
In Spain and Argentina in particular, however, the group remained popular enough to release a 1983 movie, Parchis Entra en Acción (translated as Parchis Gets Into Action in English), alongside Alberto Fernández de Rosa.
In 1985, Parchis broke up. The group had recorded a number of albums that were successful in Spain and Latin America. More than a decade later, the group would reunite for one television show engagement.
Today Tino is married and works as a high executive in a company; Gemma is a kindergarten teacher and works as a principal in a kindergarten she owns and has a daughter named Mireia; Frank is an entrepreneur and model, he is too married and has a daughter named Ona; Yolanda moved to Mexico to pursue a career as an actress were she had moderate success, she is married and has son named Alex; David got a degree in economics and works in an investment group he created along with his school buddies, he is not married. All except Yolanda live in Barcelona.
On February 10 2008 Parchis made an appearance on the Mexican television show "Muevete" It was the first time in 25 years that they were all together in the same stage. They were introduced and sang the song "PARCHIS" with everyone in attendance. Tino spoke of a comeback and wanting to sing again. They were interviewed for about one hour and spoke about their romances and adventures during their tour. They announced plans to tour again and come out with a new album. in the opening sequence, they all stood on a colored circle and the curtains came up, but there was a problem with Gemma's circled curtain that didn't come up in time, but she continued to sing. This was the highest viewed program in Mexico for the year so far.
ALBUM 1 : "LAS SUPER 25 CANCIONES DE LOS PEQUES" (ESPAÑA- 1979)
01. SUPERMAN 02. BARBAPA ROCK 03. FANTASMAS A GOGO 04. GLORIA 05. LA PLAGA 06. DEMASIADO CIELO 07. SI VAS A PARIS PAPA 08. CANTANDO AVENTURAS 09. LOS CINCO 10. EN LA ARMADA 11. MI BARBA 12. HALELLUJAH 13. BUSCA LO MAS VITAL “EL PLATANO” 14. GANADOR 15. ME GUSTAS MUCHO 16. SI TUVIERA UN MARTILLO 17. MAMA YO QUIERO 18. MORTADELO Y FILEMON (AGENCIA DE INFORMACION) 19. LA CANCION DE … PARCHIS 20. TARZAN 21. DE OCA , EN OCA 22. ES TAN DIVERTIDO AYUDAR A PAPA 23. HOORAY! HOORAY! 24. LA DE LA MOCHILA AZUL 25. VEN A MI CASA ESTA NAVIDAD
ALBUM 2 : "COMANDO G" (ESPAÑA - 1980)
26. COMANDO G (3) 27. ME VUELVO LOCO (3) 28. EL VIDEO MATO A LA ESTRELLA DE LA RADIO (3) 29. VAMOS A BAILAR (3) 30. ANIMALES, ANIMALES, ANIMALES 31. ALI BABA (3) 32. UN MUNDO PARA ELLOS 33. ZARK -7 (3) 34. UNA CASITA EN CANADA (3) (8) 35. ANIMALES (8)
ALBUM 3 : "LA BATALLA DE LOS PLANETAS" (ESPAÑA- 1980)
36. LA BATALLA DE LOS PLANETAS (4) (8) 37. DEFENSORES DEL BIEN 38. POR EL DEPORTE A LA PAZ
ALBUM 4 : "TWIST DEL COLEGIO" (ESPAÑA - 1980)
39. TWIST DEL COLEGIO (5) 40. VIEJO TREN 41. RATATATA (8) 42. FUNKYTOWN 43. TOC-TOC-TOC 44. TU NOMBRE (8) 45. DON DIABLO (8) 46. LA CAZA DEL RATON 47. DIME QUE ME QUIERES
48. ERASE UNA VEZ ..EL HOMBRE (SINGLE - Argentina 1980)
49. CANTANDO Y A LA CAMA (LP “Parchis” -Argentina 1980)
ALBUM 5 : "LA GUERRA DE LOS NIÑOS" (ESPAÑA- 1980)
50. QUERIDO PROFESOR 51. FIN DE CURSO 52. AYUDALE
ALBUM 6 : "NADALES" (ESPAÑA - 1980)
53. FUM, FUM, FUM 54. EL RABADA 55. LES DOTZE VAN TOCANT 56. EL DESEMBRE CONGELAT 57. EL TUNC QUE TAN TUNC 58. LA MARE DE DEU 59. EL NOI DE LA MARE 60. SANT JOSEP I LA MARE DE DEU 61. CASCAVELLS 62. SANTA NIT 63. L’AVET 64. EL DEMONI ESCUAT
ALBUM 7 : "VILLANCICOS" (ESPAÑA - 1980)
65. CAMPANA SOBRE CAMPANA 66. LOS PECES EN EL RIO 67. NAVIDADES BLANCAS 68. RIN, RIN (16) 69. DIME , NIÑO ¿DE QUIEN ERES? 70. ARRE , BORRIQUITO 71. NOCHE DE PAZ 72. ¡AY! DEL CHIQUIRRITIN 73. ANDE, ANDE , ANDE 74. JINGLE BELLS 75. EL PEQUEÑO TAMBORILERO 76. CANTA, RIE Y BEBE
ALBUM 8 : "PARCHIS CONTRA EL INVENTOR INVISIBLE" (ARGENTINA - 1981)
77. LA MAGIA DEL CIRCO (9) (11) 78. HOLA AMIGOS (9) (13) 79. CINCO AMIGOS DE VERDAD (11)
80. CANTA Y BAILA (9) (13) (B-SIDE “Hola Amigos” (España - 1981)
ALBUM 9 : "CORAZON DE PLOMO" (ESPAÑA - 1981)
81. CORAZON DE PLOMO (11) 82. UN RAYO DE SOL 83. DIME PORQUE 84. VAMOS A BAILAR UN TWIST 85. ME VAS A VOLVER LOCO (12) 86. EL PAIS DE LA MUSICA (12) 87. ROCKABILLY REBEL
88. PEQUEÑO AMOR EN BUENOS AIRES (LP “La Superdiscoteca” Argentina 1981)
89. VEO VEO (UNRELEASED SONG “Generación 2000/Grandes Éxitos Vol. 2/ Mexico 2001)
ALBUM 10 : "PARCHIS Y SUS AMIGOS" (ESPAÑA - 1981)
90. EL ESPACIO 91. CUMPLEAÑOS FELIZ (12) (13) 92. LOS PICAPIEDRA 93. EL BAILE DEL STOP 94. QUE BARBARIDAD 95. TINTARELLA DI LUNA 96. VAMOS A CANTAR (12) 97. EL BAILE DE LOS PAJARITOS (12) 98. VEN A MI FIESTA (12) (13) 99. VERDAD O MENTIRA 100. CUANDO ME MIRAS
ALBUM 11 : "LA 2DA GUERRA DE LOS NIÑOS" (ESPAÑA - 1981)
101. OTRO CURSO 102. MI BICI 103. LA CHICA IDEAL 104. ¡OH, JESUS! 105. QUERIDO WALT DISNEY (13) 106. NANA BLANCA , NANA NEGRA
ALBUM 12 : "LA MAGIA DE LOS PARCHIS" (ARGENTINA - 1981)
107. PARCHIS Y EL MAGO 108. VAMOS POR UN MUNDO DE COLORES 109. BOCADILLO STOP 110. PATINBAILE 111. LA SUPERFIESTA
112. EL ARBOL DE LA SABIDURIA (LP “Los Parchis a Disneylandia”/ Argentina 1982)
113. HIMNO DE LAS AGUILAS DEL AMERICA (SINGLE /México 1982)
114. EL MUNDIAL (El Mundial 82 /España)
ALBUM 13 : "CUMPLEAÑOS FELIZ" (ESPAÑA - 1982)
115. MARCHATE YA (14) 116. BUENOS DIAS ARCO IRIS (14) 117. HASTA LA VISTA (14) 118. VAMOS A RIO 119. METEORITO ROCK AND ROLL(14)
ALBUM 14 : "LAS AVENTURAS DE LOS PARCHIS" (ARGENTINA 1982)
120. TARZAN, TARZAN 121. HASTA LUEGO COCODRILO (15) 122. PREGUNTALE A JUAN 123. PANCHO LOPEZ 124. HAY QUE VENCER AL MIEDO
125. LA BATALLA DE LOS PLANETAS(POPURRI) UNRELEASED MEDLEY “Todas sus canciones…todos sus exitos (España 2005)
126. YA ESTAS AQUÍ (Maxi – single España 1982) 127. LOS MUCHACHOS (NIÑOS)
ALBUM 15 : "LAS LOCURAS DE PARCHIS" (ESPAÑA - 1982)
128. ARRIBA , ABAJO 129. EL RITMO LOCO 130. NO SE PORQUE 131. BIEN , BIEN BRAVO 132. LAS ROCKERAS DE SANTA TERESITA 133. VUELVO DE DISNEYWORLD 134. SAFARI EN LA CIUDAD 135. LAS LOCURAS DE PARCHIS 136. SR. BUHO 137. MI SUPER SUPERMAN 138. MI GUITARRA 139. AUXILIO, SOCORRO 140. MI AMIGO PANCHO
141. FELICIDADES (FROM THE FILM “Las Locuras de Parchis”)
ALBUM 16 : "FELIZ NAVIDAD" (ESPAÑA - 1982)
142. FELIZ NAVIDAD (17) 143. LA VIRGEN Y SAN JOSE 144. PASTORES VENID 145. UNA PANDERETA SUENA 146. LA NORAGUENA 147. CATATUMBA , TUMBA, TUMBA 148. YA VIENE LA VIEJA 149. MADRE EN LA PUERTA HAY UN NIÑO 150. CARRASCLAS 151. TAN, TAN DE LOS REYES 152. A BELEN PASTORCITOS 153. ZUMBALE AL PANDERO 154. EL PORTAL DE BELEN
155. PAQUETITOS NAVIDEÑOS (LP “15 Nuevos Villancicos “ / México- 1982)
156. ESTO ES AMERICA (LP “Las Locuras de Parchis “ /México - 1983)
157. LUCKY, EL JINETE SOLITARIO (UNRELEASED SONG “Sus Grandes Exitos” /España – 1985)
158. SCOOBY DOO (UNRELEASED SONG “Un Globo, Dos Globos, Tres Globos” /España – 2002)
ALBUM 17 : "SUPERDISCOLANDIA" (ESPAÑA- 1983)
159. ENTRA EN ACCION 160. EN EL SUPERMERCADO 161. VAMOS A GANAR 162. A ENTRENAR 163. A VENCER
ALBUM 18 : "SIEMPRE PÀRCHIS" (ESPAÑA - 1983) 164. NO PONGAS EL CASSETTE 165. LA PUERTA VERDE 166. LA BANDA ESTA LOCA 167. QUE MARAVILLA DE CANCION 168. TRANQUI TRANQUI 169. ¡OH! MAMA PAPA 170. MARIONETAS EN LA CUERDA 171. COSAS DE CRIOS 172. 24,000 BESOS 173. LA DOLCE VITA 174. YO TAMBIEN QUIERO FAMA 175. QUIERO QUE LLEGUE EL DOMINGO
176. 24,000 BESOS (24 MILA BACI) (VERSION 2) LP “Tranqui, Tranqui” / México 1983) 177. FAMA (17) 178. NO PONGAS EL CASSETTE (VERSION 2)
ALBUM 19 : "QUE TAL TE VA" (ESPAÑA - 1984)
179. QUE TAL TE VA 180. UNA MOTO QUIERO YO 181. AHORA SI 182. LA TIMIDEZ 183. TARTAMUDEO 184. VIVA EL CINCO 185. TAL PARA CUAL 186. NO ME MIENTAS 187. LA DEL SUERTER GRIS 188. SUSPENSO TOTAL
189. SABADO, SABADO (LP “Que Tal Te Va “/ México -1984) 190. ME ESTOY VOLVIENDO LOCO
ALBUM 20 : "DECIDETE, ATREVETE" (MEXICO - 1985)
191. NO SE , NO SE 192. LA COLEGIALA 193. YO SOY COMO SOY 194. LOBO HOMBRE EN PARIS 195. DI CUAL FUE AL 196. LLAMAS A MI PUERTA 197. DECIDETE ATREVETE 198. NUBES DE COLORES 199. JOVEN PRIMER AMOR 200. DESIDIA