Carmen Amaya – The Art of Flamenco in Barcelona

Carmen Amaya was a lengendary Spanish-Romani flamenco dancer, born in the district of Somorrostro, Barcelona. She began dancing with her father, a guitarist, while still a very young child, performing in bars and on the streets of the city. As a young woman she began to perform across Spain at well-known theatres, such as the Coliseum in Madrid. As her fame and reputation grew, she danced across the world, including in South America and the United States, leaving her home country of Spain for around 10 years.

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Carmen Amaya – The Art of Flamenco in Barcelona

By the time she returned to Spain and Barcelona in 1947 she was already a world-famous flamenco dancer and film star in her own right. She performed at prestigious theatres throughout Europe but she began to fall ill at the beginning of the 1960’s. It was this illness that finally put an end to her illustrious career. She died in 1963, from kidney failure, in the Catalonian seaside resort of Begur. While her life was tragically cut short, her legend continues to live on. Recongised as one of the greatest and most unique flamenco dancers ever to have lived, she also revolutionised the flamenco world with her style and technique. She was also a hero of the people; an inspiration who started from humble gypsy beginnings and went on to conquer the world…