Lola Flores

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Flores and the second or maternal family name is Ruiz.

Lola Flores
Flores, c. 1941
Born
María Dolores Flores Ruiz

(1923-01-21)21 January 1923
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
Died16 May 1995(1995-05-16) (aged 72)
Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain
Resting placeCementerio de la Almudena, Madrid, Spain
Other namesLola de España
La Faraona
Torbellino de colores
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
  • dancer
Years active1939–1995
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1957)​
PartnerManolo Caracol (1943–1951)
Children
Relatives
Musical career
Genres
Instrument
  • Vocals
Labels

María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlola ˈfloɾes]; 21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995[1]) was a Spanish actress, bailaora (flamenco dancer) and singer. Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Flores became interested in the performing arts at a very young age.[2] Known for her overwhelming personality onstage, she debuted as a dancer at age sixteen at the stage production Luces de España, in her hometown. After being discovered by film director Fernando Mignoni, Flores moved to Madrid to pursue a professional career in music and film, with her first gig being the lead role in Mignoni's Martingala (1940). Flores succeeded as a film and stage actress. In 1943 she obtained her breakthrough role in the musical stage production Zambra alongside Manolo Caracol, in which she sang original compositions by Rafael de León, Manuel López-Quiroga Miquel and Antonio Quintero, including "La Zarzamora" and "La Niña de Fuego", mostly singing flamenco music, copla, rumba and ranchera.[3] She then started to receive widespread media coverage.

In 1951, Flores signed a five-film contract with Suevia Films for a value of 6 million pesetas, which became the largest contract for a performing artist in Spanish history.[4] Under that contract she starred in major productions like La Niña de la Venta (1951), ¡Ay, Pena, Penita, Pena! (1953), La Danza de los Deseos (1954) and El Balcón de la Luna (1962), among many others, which spawned the signature songs "A tu Vera" and "¡Ay, Pena, Penita, Pena!". Since then, she was popularly dubbed as la Faraona ("the Pharaoh").[5] During her life, Flores performed in more than 35 films, pigeonholed, in many of them, in Andalusian folklore. As a bailaora, Flores enraged several generations of continents, although she distanced herself from flamenco canons. She also recorded over twenty albums, which she toured through Europe, Latin America and the United States.[6]

Her strong personality, recognizable image, remarkable professional trajectory and sometimes controversial personal life, have turned Flores into a Spanish pop culture icon. She is often cited as the "biggest exporter of Andalusian culture to date" as well as a "pioneer", being tributed many times in recent television series and documentaries such as the biographical film Lola, la Película (2007).[7][8] Lola became the matriarch of what would later be the Flores family, filled with popular singers and television personalities such as Lolita Flores, Rosario, Alba Flores and Elena Furiase. In 1995, Lola Flores died, aged 72, in Alcobendas due to health complications caused by a breast cancer.[9]

  1. ^ "Lola Flores, 72, Spain's Definitive Flamenco Singer". The New York Times. 17 May 1995.
  2. ^ Car, Por Daniel I.; Archivo, e Fotos (16 May 2021). "ESPECIAL SAGAS FAMILIARES: Lola Flores, así fue la vida de 'La Faraona'". Diez Minutos (in European Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Sobre cómo Lola Flores sigue siendo, 25 años después, un arma (cultural) de doble filo". Vogue España (in European Spanish). 15 May 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Rincón de las Curiosidades 'Lola Flores'". cittadiroma.es. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  5. ^ García Garzón, Juan Ignacio (2007). Lola Flores: el volcán y la brisa. Ediciones Algaba. ISBN 978-84-96107-75-5.
  6. ^ Castilla, Amelia (25 June 1995). "El despegue discográfico de la familia Flores". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Lola Flores: 25 años sin 'la Faraona'". Lecturas (in Spanish). 16 May 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  8. ^ González, David (18 October 2021). "Lola Flores revive en un documental en Movistar Plus". elcierredigital.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  9. ^ "De las inesperadas ausencias a la lápida llena de claveles rojos: el emotivo funeral de Lola Flores". divinity (in European Spanish). 29 July 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.