Carmen Amaya: The Passionate Spirit of Flamenco’s Queen, Part 1 of 2

Carmen Amaya was a legendary Spanish Romani flamenco dancer and singer, renowned for her fiery, intense performances and groundbreaking contributions to the art of flamenco. Her unique style earned her titles such as “the greatest of dancers” and “Queen of the Gypsies.” Carmen’s lively energy and unique flair captivated audiences worldwide, introducing Romani culture and art to an international audience, revolutionizing flamenco.

Carmen Amaya was born on November 2, 1913, into a Spanish Romani family in the Somorrostro beach district, a poor Romani neighborhood on the outskirts of Barcelona, Catalonia. When she was six, her unique dancing style drew attention in the flamenco circles. A show businessman named José Sampere booked Carmen Amaya in better known venues, such as the Spanish Theater in Barcelona. She was loved by her audiences and soon went by the name “La Capitana,” “The Captain,” because of her decisive character.

Sebastià Gasch, a flamenco critic, wrote an article on Carmen in the weekly newspaper “Mirador.” He described her in the following terms”: “Imagine a little Romani girl of about 14 years old sitting in a chair on the ‘tablao’ (flamenco stage). Carmencita remains impassive and statuesque, haughty and noble, with indescribable racial nobility, hermetic, absent, inattentive to everything happening around her, alone with her inspiration, in a tremendously hieratic attitude, to allow the soul to rise towards inaccessible regions. Suddenly, a leap. And the little Romani dances. The indescribable. Soul. Pure Soul. Feeling made flesh.”

Carmen revolutionized flamenco dancing. She created her own unique form that merged traditionally masculine and feminine flamenco dance styles. Carmen Amaya’s unique performance style first came to the attention of a wider audience at the occasion of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. She was only 16, and she danced in front of His Majesty Alfonso XIII, King of Spain. Guitarist Miguel Borrull hired the Amaya family, with La Capitana as the main attraction, to perform at the Andalusian pavilion.