CARMEN AMAYA

Carmen Amaya (November 2, 1913 - November 19, 1963) was a flamenco dancer and singer, born in the Somorrostro slum of Barcelona, Catalonia. She danced from the time she was 7 years old. In 1929, she made her debut in Paris, to warm acclaims and admiration of her dancing skill. She moved to America in 1936, where she went on to act in several films that broke box office records. Eternal flamenco superstar.
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Carmen Amaya was one of the greatest flamenco dancers. In the '40s and '50s, this exotic Gypsy woman won international acclaim performing for such notable people as Roosevelt and Churchill. From the age of four she performed alongside her father in the taverns and music halls of Barcelona. By the time she reached her teens, she was already well known to audiences in Madrid and Paris.

During the 1930's, she traveled the world and performed to enthusiastic audiences everywhere she went. The people of North and South America fell in love with Carmen Amaya-the embodiment of Spanish pride and passion. She went on to make films in Hollywood and appeared on Broadway, often accompanied by the great guitar virtuoso, Sabicas. And though she triumphed on stages all around the world, she always remained true to her Gypsy heritage. Throughout most of her performing life, her huge company was made up almost entirely of her extended family, and they traveled together in the traditional Gypsy way, sharing their luck as well as their hardships. And hardship indeed fell on Carmen Amaya. In 1963 at the age of 50, she died in her native Barcelona of kidney failure.
Adapted from the essay by Robert Withers and Meira Goldberg