“Her name has always been a part of my life. First it was my mother always telling me about her...how she danced, what a good person she was. Even now at eighty she still talks about how she came on stage, that majestic presence, that temperament, her electrifying personality. She had everything. There’ll never be another.

“And the woman...that humanity she had that made her special. My family lived in Somorrostro, where Carmen was born, so they were neighbors. My older sister tells how she performed in the theater in Barcelona...all the tickets were sold out and many gypsies from Somorrostro couldn’t get in, either because they couldn’t afford it or because there were no tickets left. When Carmen found out, she went right to the neighborhood and danced for her ‘gitanicos’”. Dolores Giménez, president and founder of the Asociación Cultural Flamenca de Madrid.

On November 19th, 1963, a few days before U.S. President John Kennedy was assassinated, Carmen Amaya died in Begur (Girona). That was forty years ago, ninety since her birth. But the collective memory of this person and her dance continue to be absolutely current for the new generation of flamenco dancers – stars like Antonio Canales, Juana Amaya, Juan Andrés Maya and José Antonio himself of Spain’s National Ballet who just premiered his work “Leyenda” based on Carmen Amaya, continue to find inspiration in this petite individual who transformed flamenco dance for good.

Deflamenco wishes to pay tribute to Carmen by declaring the month of November “Carmen Amaya Month”. We won’t go over the details of her biography, for that there are magnificent books such as “Queen of the Gypsies” (Sevilla Press, 1999) by Paco Sevilla, “Carmen Amaya o la Danza del Fuego” (Espasa Calpe, 1994) by Mario Bois, “Cuando duermo, sueño que estoy bailando” (Libros PM, 1995) by Francisco Hidalgo Gómez or “Carmen Amaya la bailaora genial” (G.P. Barcelona, 1964) by Salvador Montañés, just to name a few, but rather, through the words of people who worked and lived with her, we hope to reconstruct a vivid impression of who this person really was and peel away the layers of myth to feel her presence. Throughout this month of November we shall be offering these intimate testimonies.

“That’s how we all ought to live, doing everything as if our life depended on it, as if we might die at any moment”. Antonio Canales, flamenco dancer, speaking about Carmen Amaya in an interview by Flamenco-world.

Carmen Amaya: Jaleo (bulerías).

Sixth and final part: Lucero Tena, dancer and castanet soloist (México)

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Part five:
PEPITA and GOYO REYES, dancers, choreographer (Madrid)

TEO MORCA, dancer and choreographer (USA)

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Part four: Sara Lezana, bailaora
(Madrid)

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Part Three: Pepita Funez , dancer
(Madrid)

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Part Two: LUISA TRIANA, dancer and choreographer (Triana, Sevilla)

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Our most sincere thanks (in alphabetical order) to: Domingo Alvarado, Olga Amaya, Omayra Amaya, Dominico Caro, Pepita Fúnez, Dolores Giménez, Sara Lezana, Teo Morca, Pepita Ortega, Lucero Tena, Paco Sevilla, Isabel Steva ‘Colita’, Luisa Triana

Cover photograph, courtesy of Isabel Steva ‘Colita’ http://www.colitafotografia.com/

The book "Queen of the Gypsies: The life and legend of Carmen Amaya" is available from: http://www.sevillapress.netfirms.com/

Carmen Amaya Special.
La Reina Del Embrujo Gitano
(boxset: 2 Cds+ 1 Dvd + Book)

Hand-crafted flamenco dance shoes: