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Lola Flores

Lola Flores

María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlola ˈfloɾes]; 21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995) 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. 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. 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. 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"). 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.

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). 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.

El ventilador. Una història de rumba

2023

as Self (archive footage)

Lola Flores: El Coraje De Vivir

2023

Lola

2021

TV Story Superstar

2020

as Self (archive footage)

50 años de... Canciones

2009

as Self (archive footage)

VM Show Vol. 2

2005

as Self (archive footage)

Sevilles

1992

Juncal

1989

as Merche

Los invitados

1987

as La Capataza

Crooks

1983

as Nati Jiménez

Juana la Loca… de vez en cuando

1983

as Reina Isabel I 'La Católica'

Canciones de nuestra vida

1975

as Trinidad (archive footage)

The Killer Is Not Alone

1975

as Doña Dolores

Casa Flora

1973

as Lola

Una señora estupenda

1970

as Lola

Kuma-Ching

1969

as Lola Reyes

El taxi de los conflictos

1969

as Lola

Sinfonía española

1965

La gitana y el charro

1964

as María Vargas

De color moreno

1963

as Rosario

El balcón de la Luna

1962

as Cora Benamejí

María de la O

1959

as María de la O

Vargas Inn

1959

as Dolores

Blame Me

1959

Las de Caín

1959

as Singer

El gran espectáculo

1958

as Carmela

Sueños de oro

1958

as Maricruz

La faraona

1956

as Soledad Prim Altamirano y Montoya / Pastora Heredia

Los tres amores de Lola

1956

as Dolores Vargas González

Tú y las nubes

1955

La hermana alegría

1955

as Hermana alegría

Morena clara

1954

as Trinidad Vargas / Trinidad Marqués

The Dance of Desires

1954

as Candela

Reportaje

1953

as Flamenco dancer

Oh Pain, Little Pain, Pain!

1953

as Carmela

Estrella de Sierra Morena

1952

as Estrella

The Girl at the Inn

1951

as Reyes

Black Jack

1950

as Singer and dancer

Embrujo

1948

as Lola

Una herencia de París

1944

Misterio en la marisma

1943

as Bailaora

Un alto en el camino

1941

as Soledad Molina

Excuse

1939