Lola Flores

María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (; 21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995) was a Spanish actress, (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 , 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 "" and "", 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 (1951), (1953), (1954) and (1962), among many others, which spawned the signature songs "" and "". Since then, she was popularly dubbed as ("the Pharaoh"). During her life, Flores performed in more than 35 films, pigeonholed, in many of them, in Andalusian folklore. As a , 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 (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. Provided by Wikipedia