Singer |
| Name:Dolores Flores Ruiz |
| Birth: 1923 Jerez |
| Death: 1995 Madrid |
"Manolo (Caracol) and I, artistically speaking, had a great mutual understanding from the first moment (...) I must say that Manolo made me a bailaora, even though he wasn't a bailaor. He told me how I had to move my arms. When and how I had to taconear (a rhythmic combination of sounds made by stepping with the heels) or in what tercio (a section, or each of the verses that make up a copla in flamenco singing, ie. Tercio de entrada, introduction section, part or verse; or Tercio de remate, final section, part, or verse) he would hold my hair with his hand…".
|
|
Lola Flores has been one of the best loved and unforgettable figures in twentieth century Spain. It cannot be said that she was a customary flamenco bailaora and cantaora, although she did tackle some of the lighter styles of flamenco singing. On the other hand, she was an artist who had a strong personality, with plenty of talent, temperament and energy who danced, sang, hosted shows and television programmes, regardless of whether they were about music or humour, she acted and performed... and, in the last years of her life, she even painted.
She started off in the parties and shows in Jerez when she was very young, but she didn't become successful until 1945, when she formed an artistic (and romantic) partnership with Manolo Caracol. They turned out to be the the most seductive and interesting couple in the entire history of Spanish showbusiness, and they brought flamenco into theatres, staging portraits, and descriptive resumés of literary works, that Caracol sang and Lola Flores danced to. When she was already a solo artist in 1953, she began a successful career in Latin America: in Buenos Aires, Havana, Mexico, Río de Janeiro... which continued during the sixties and seventies, when she collected great successes and excellent reviews.
Another important dimension of Lola Flores is her work as an actress. There are almost forty films and some television series in her cv. The first was Martingala (1939), alongside Pepe Marchena. With Manolo Caracol, she was the protagonist of two unforgettable successes: Embrujo (1947) and La Niña de la Venta (1951). She also starred in "La Faraona" (1955), "Las de Caín" (1959), "María de la O" (1959), "Juana la Loca... de vez en cuando" (1983)... She even took part in the documentary Coraje de Vivir (1994), in which she recounts her own life in several chapters. In March 2003 a monument in Lola Flores' honour was unveiled in Jerez, her hometown, a few metres from the house where she was born. |
Lola Flores
