Isabel Pantoja denied US visa forcing concert cancellations

Pantoja was initially granted permission to enter the USA – of which the former Spanish colony of Puerto Rico is the de facto 51^st State – but the embassy in Spain changed its mind days later after a 'second review'.

It means Pantoja's shows scheduled for tonight (Sunday) in Miami, Florida and for next Sunday, February 18 in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan cannot now go ahead.

The artist's promoters say the visa refusal is due to 'causes outside the control of' the singer herself and the organisers, but did not offer any further details.

Fans suspect the fact she recently spent two years in jail and was forced to pay a fine in the sum of €1.4 million for money laundering may have influenced the embassy's decision to refuse her entry to the USA.

According to an official press release from the promoters: “We trust we shall shortly be able to announce the dates when these concerts can be reprogrammed and we apologise for any possible inconvenience that this situation may cause for the artist's fans and for all the teams who have been working on organising the shows for months.”

Pantoja's two concerts were reportedly almost sold out.

She has been working hard on promoting her December 2016 album Hasta que se apague el sol ('Until the sun goes out') through live performances.

The new studio album was created in conjunction with the late Juan Gabriel, a prestigious and globally-renowned Mexican artist and record producer.

Isabel's first concert since being released from prison – exactly a year ago at Madrid's WiZink Centre – marked the start of her long-awaited return to the music circuit after a long and drawn-out trial which led to her being jailed for evading tax on profits earned by her ex-husband, former mayor of Marbella Julián Muñoz, from illegal building development activities.