José María González Santos

Born on 22 September 1975 in Rotterdam, where his parents had immigrated fleeing the dire economic conditions in the Bay of Cádiz.[1] His family returned to Cádiz with Kichi when he was 4 years old.[2] Since age 13, Kichi has been involved in the Carnival of Cádiz, first as chirigotero and later as vocalist in the comparsa of Jesús Bienvenido.[1]

After obtaining a licentiate degree in Geography in History from the University of Cádiz (UCA),[3] he became a highschool teacher, working across the Andalusian region as interim until he earned a permanent post.[1] He later became a trade union representative in the 2010s.[1] He has been a relationship for years with Teresa Rodríguez, with whom he had a daughter in common in 2019 (Kichi has two children from a previous relationship).[4]

A member of Izquierda Anticapitalista (IZAN),[5] he ran 1st in the list of Cádiz Sí Se Puede (a grouping of electors linked to Podemos) vis-à-vis the May 2015 municipal election in Cádiz.[6] Following the results of the election, in which Por Cádiz Sí Se Puede earned 9 seats, Kichi was invested Mayor on 13 June 2015, with the support from the Por Cádiz Sí Se Puede (9), Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (5) and Ganar Cádiz en Común (2) municipal councillors.[7] He renovated the post of Mayor for a second term,[8] after the 2019 municipal election, in which the list he led neared an absolute majority, with 13 councillors out of 27.[9]