Carmen Amaya
Full name
Date of birth
Place of birth
Biography
Was born in Barcelona in 1913 and died in Bagur (Barcelona) in 1963. She saw her first ray of light in Somorrostro. Her father, Francisco Amaya el Chino, was an amateur guitarist and it was from here that Carmen got her enthusiasm for dance. José Sampere took her to Barcelona´s Español Theatre in 1929. In 1935 the businessman Carcellé hired her and presented her in Madrid´s Coliseum. She played a part in the film La hija de Juan Simón, with Angelillo and later starred in María de la O along with Pastora Imperio.
When war broke out she was working in Valladolid´s Zorrilla Theatre. With a lot of difficulty she crossed the frontier and went to Portugal, where she left for America in a ship which took fifteen days to cross the Atlantic. She triumphed in Buenos Aires and there met Sabicas, with who she worked across the continent with for six years. Carmen Amaya returned to Spain in 1947 as an indisputable figure. However she had already met very important people, and even filmed numerous films in Hollywood. In 1952 she married the 'payo´ - non-gypsy - guitarist Juan Antonio Agüero. She made many more films such as Los Tarantos. She also had an important facet as a singer, where she demonstrated that she could exude as much rage as she could as a dancer.
