Lola Flores' Madrid

A Spanish Pop-culture Legend

Lola Flores captivates us and holds us spellbound, doing so by both word and deed. Modern yet traditional, creative and dazzling, her artistic talent combined technique with inspiration, know-how with ingenuity and folk wisdom with a magnetic stage presence. Behind her trademark dark eyes, windblown hair, warm smile and emphatic gestures, Lola Flores had a certain je ne sais quoi, that vital energy that drives a unique artist: that special something that only geniuses have.

A singer, dancer, rhapsodist and presenter, Lola—her first name suffices—left behind a huge legacy ranging from the flamenco modes she absorbed in Jerez de la Frontera, where she was born in 1923 (“In my heart I’m a gypsy”), to the “special colour” of her beloved Seville. Who could forget her unforgettable duo performances with Manolo Caracol, not to mention how she sang coplas to the rhythm of bulerías, tanguillos, zambras and pasodobles, her poignant poetry recitals, her flamboyant skirts, the shuffling of the ruffled tail of her dress and her unmistakable arms and hands.

Chameleon-like in her career and brave and bold in character, she took on everything from Latino songs— popularising them with frequent trips to the Americas (she was nicknamed “The Pharaoh” in Mexico)—to rumba, which was trendy in Spain in the 1960s, to the camp aesthetic of Casa Flora and the neorealism in other films such as Los invitados and Juncal. She also branched out into TV interviews and music shows. She left behind a flamenco legacy too—looking right at the camera as if staring into our eyes—with her superb solo in Carlos Saura’s Sevillanas.

Lola chose Madrid as her home, and it was here where she built a family with Antonio González and their children, Lolita, Antonio and Rosario. In 1993, the city said goodbye to the Spanish pop-culture legend, a status she still retains now in the 21st century.

Cristina Cruces Professor of Anthropology at the University of Seville / Map illustrated by Irene Blasco

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