Lola Flores

Lola Flores
Birth name	María de los Dolores Flores Ruiz
Also known as	La Faraona
Born	21 January 1923 Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Died	16 May 1995(1995-05-16) (aged 72) Madrid, Spain
Genres	Andalusian folklore
Occupation	Singer
Instrument(s)	Voice, castanets
Years active	1939–1995

Template:Spanish name María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995) was a Spanish singer, dancer, and actress.

Professional career

Lola Flores, a native of Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz (Andalucía, Spain) was an icon of dance Spanish Gypsy culture, recognized throughout Spain as well as internationally. Flores was not a gypsy herself but identified strongly with the Roma people and culture and eventually married into a Gitano family. She did, however, acknowledge that she had been told her maternal grandfather was of Romani extraction. She became a famous dancer and singer of Andalusian folklore at a very young age, performing flamenco, copla, and chotis and appearing in films from 1939 to 1987. She experienced her greatest success performing in folklore shows with Manolo Caracol, who was her artistic partner until 1951.

Personal life

In 1958, she married Salahel Pescaílla, a guitarist from Cataluña, Spain, who was Romani. She had three children: Sucku(dancerLolita Flores); rock musician, singer and actor Antonio Flores; and singer and actress Rosario Flores.

"La Faraona"died of breast cancer in 1995, aged 72, and was buried in the Cementerio de la Almudena in Madrid. Shortly after her death, her distraught 33-year-old son, Antonio Flores, committed suicide by overdosing on barbiturates and was buried beside her.

In 2007, the biography Lola, la película was made. The movie describes her early life, starting in 1931 until 1958.

Monument in her hometown, Jerez de la Frontera

Selected filmography

• The Balcony of the Moon (1962)

See also

• Women in dance