Antonio Ríos Fernández, El Pipa, was born in the Santiago district, Jerez, in 1971. His Grandmother, Tía Juana la del Pipa, was a great dancer, and his father, Antonio El Pipa, from whom he has inherited his artistic name, he was a bailaor, too.

All through his carreer, El Pipa has danced with some of the most respected Spanish companies, like Cristina Hoyos' (he taked parted in her highly praised choreography of Yerma), La Tati's, Lola Flores' or Antonio Vargas', with whom he participated in the staging of the opera Carmen starred by José Carreras.

In 1995 he received the Juana la Macarrona and Paco Laberinto Awards, for Alegrías and Bulerías respectively, in the XIV Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba. In 1997 he received also several honorific awards, like the Teatro Pavón Cup (awarded by the Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid to the revelation artist of the year; for "Vivencias", the first show staged by his own company), the Jerez Coup, awarded by the Cátedra de Flamencología de Jerez, ant the Jerezano del Año, awarded by the local media.

In 1998 he received the Premio Nacional de la Crítica Española (National Critics Prize) and the Golden Badge of the Peña Flamenca de Tío José de Paula. The next year he premiered the show "Generaciones" at the III Festival de Jerez

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