What happened to Antonio Vigo, Letizia Ortiz's former brother-in-law who 'confronted' the Bourbons

This May 22 marks 21 years since the royal wedding of then Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz, which was held in 2004 at the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. The announcement of the engagement in 2003 put the media spotlight on the Ortiz Rocasolano family and its members. Among them is one of Letizia's sisters, the late Érika Ortiz, and her then-partner Antonio Vigo Pérez (Madrid, 1972).

The images of the royal wedding announcement showed a pose of both families, the Bourbons and the Ortiz Rocasolano. On one side is the artist Antonio Vigo. Three years later, the news of Érika Ortiz's death shocked both families and created tensions between Antonio Vigo and the Royal Family.

Vigo is a sculptor, Doctor of Fine Arts since 2010, and a professor at Rey Juan Carlos University. His specialty has led him to achieve several international successes, such as the third prize at the 7th Liu Kaiqu Award International Sculpture Exhibition. As can be seen on his social media, the artist is an avid traveler: Italy, Germany, China, and Saudi Arabia are some of his destinations.

However, he didn't always have that recognition: before, Érika and he had financial problems. Their careers took off with the marriage between Letizia and Felipe VI.

Antonio Vigo and Érika Ortiz

Antonio Vigo and Érika Ortiz met when they were both studying at the Faculty of Fine Arts. Letizia's sister went to Germany on an Erasmus scholarship and kept her romance with the sculptor long-distance. Upon her return, she became pregnant and in the year 2000 gave birth to her first and only daughter, Carla.

The relationship was marked by financial problems until 2004 when the current kings got married. Érika was hired as communications director of an art magazine, and Antonio managed to exhibit at the Estampa fair. It wasn't just momentary luck: he got another opportunity to work as a sculptor in Uruguay.

Vigo moved to the South American country, where he lived between 2004 and 2007, and there he began his passion for traveling the world with his sculptures. However, his partner and daughter stayed in Spain. In 2006, after almost a decade of relationship, the breakup between Érika and Antonio was confirmed.

Nevertheless, he keeps a good relationship with his first daughter Carla, as can be seen in the comments they exchange on social media. In fact, Carla Vigo publicly defended her father after he was criticized last year for details of his private life, as we already reported in elcierredigital.com. "You can mess with me, but not a word about my father," said the performer. A year ago, Letizia's niece returned to the media spotlight after it was revealed that she was living in supervised housing. Besides Carla, Antonio Vigo has two more children with a woman named Laura.

The tragic death of Érika Ortiz

On February 7, 2007, the lifeless body of Érika Ortiz, aged 31, was found in her apartment in Valdebernardo, Madrid. It was the cameraman Roberto García, her partner at the time, who found her. The day before, Érika had left her daughter Carla with a neighbor.

The deceased had left five letters addressed to her family members. The cause of death was a massive intake of medications, as was known. The Bourbons, the Ortiz Rocasolano, and Antonio Vigo attended the funeral home in La Paz, Tres Cantos.

According to David Rocasolano in the pages of Adiós Princesa, Antonio Vigo told Juan Carlos I: "You are to blame, you have killed her." Rocasolano points out that Vigo was referring to the intense media pressure on Érika after the announcement of the royal wedding. From that moment, the sculptor left the spotlight, what is he up to now?

Antonio Vigo today

Antonio Vigo lives in Aranjuez with his partner, named Laura, and their two children. He also keeps a good relationship with Carla, the daughter he had with Érika.

The sculptor has been a Doctor of Fine Arts since 2010 and currently teaches at Rey Juan Carlos University. He combines teaching with his artistic career, with international successes such as participating in the international exhibition NordArt in Büdelsdorf, Germany, in 2014 and 2015. In 2018, he won the third prize at the 7th Liu Kaiqu Award International Sculpture Exhibition in Wuhu, China.