MADRID – Argentine-born singer-songwriter Luis Aguile died on Saturday at a hospital in this capital after a battle with stomach cancer, relatives said. He was 73.

The singer and showman lived in Spain for more than 40 years and became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with hits like “Cuando sali de Cuba” (When I Left Cuba) and “Juanita Banana.”

He died at 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) at Madrid’s Sanchinarro Hospital in the company of his family, said his niece, Ana Maria Poncet.

Aguile, who moved to Spain in 1963 and composed close to 400 songs during his lengthy career, remained involved in the music business into his later years and before his death was working on a zarzuela, or operetta, dedicated to Madrid.

“He handled his illness with great dignity,” said Victor Saboya, his manager and friend over the past 12 years, adding that Aguile still had two dreams that went unfulfilled during his lifetime.

“He would have liked to have seen a tribute to Argentine poet Jose Hernandez, best known for (his epic work) ‘Martin Fierro,’ as well as the zarzuela about Madrid, make it to the stage,” Saboya said in reference to his final two projects.

The manager said the latter is “a brilliant piece” and expressed confidence that it can be staged in the future as a proper homage to Aguile.

Saboya said the singer will be buried in Madrid, “a city he loved.”