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'Carmen Amaya. La reina del embrujo gitano'
(special pack: 2 CDs + DVD + book)

With the slogan "the most temperamental and tragic figure in flamenco history", the label Alma Latina presents a complete special pack devoted to Carmen Amaya, "in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of her death". Standing out in this indispensable pack is above all the DVD since up until now, the access to live images of the bailaora was a nearly impossible task. Along with those audiovisual excerpts, two records are released vindicating the cantaora facet of the great artist, with nearly thirty recordings made in New York in the '40s. Completing the pack is the book 'El mar me enseñó a bailar', a journey through the personal and artistic biography of this brilliant figure - published in Spanish, English and French -, written by Jordi Pujol Baulenas and Carlos García de Olalla.

Carmen Amaya (frame from DVD 'Carmen Amaya.
La reina del embrujo gitano')

DVD. 'Carmen Amaya. La reina del embrujo gitano'

There is no greater inspiration and no better example for a bailaor than to watch Carmen Amaya in action. Eva Yerbabuena and Antonio Canales, for instance, confess having worn out recordings of the brilliant artist, audiovisual testimonies which up until now have circulated by fits and starts. The DVD contained in the pack 'La reina del embrujo gitano' solves the problem of access to this legacy. The contents are divided into three blocks.

The first is a condensed version of three short films recorded in the '40s, with the title 'Fuerza y temperamento' ('Strength and Temperament'). In these fragments, despite the precarious condition of the originals, all the bravery and brilliant work of the Barcelona-born bailaora can be appreciated, whether she be in trousers, arrayed in a skirt and short jacket, playing the castanets...

The second block includes a selection of scenes taken from the films 'María de la O' (1939), directed by Francisco Elías and script by José Luis López Rubio, in which Pastora Imperio also took part; and 'Juan Simón's Daughter' (1935) by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, in which she conversed with Angelillo. Carmen Amaya is seen dancing with Granada's Alhambra in the background, on top of a table, in a private party wearing an elegant black dress... And even crying in a close-up.

The extra is a photo album organized by period. Standing out are amazing pictures of her first steps such as that of the Villa Rosa Hall in Barcelona (1929); and the cover of the daily 'La Vanguardia' on the occasion of her performance at the World's Fair in Barcelona. There are also outstanding photos of her American adventure such as the cover devoted to her by the magazine 'Dance' in 1940; the Broadway show 'Laugh, Town, Laugh!' in 1942; a performance at the El Patio Cabaret in Mexico in 1955; and a snapshot with Marlo Brando during the shooting of the film 'Comanche'. And, moreover, her final years are recalled, with photos of her return to Barcelona's Palau in 1959; and those taken by Colita during the shooting of the film 'Los Tarantos'.

Carmen Amaya (frame from DVD 'Carmen Amaya.
La reina del embrujo gitano')

2 CDs. 'Carmen Amaya. La reina del embrujo gitano'

"If as a bailaora Carmen Amaya reached the most perfect and purest interpretation, we cannot hesitate to point out other complements of her inimitable art, as was her flamenco clapping, the rhythmic snapping of her fingers and the rattle of her castanets. Another vital facet of Carmen Amaya's temperamental art was cante. Her shattering voice, rich in pure and evocative colors, flowed with captivating emotion and boundless naturalness". So bear witness the nearly thirty recordings on the two records included in the pack 'La reina del embrujo gitano', all of them made in New York and restored for this edition.

The first volume contains cantes by Carmen Amaya dating back to 1941 and embellished with her own heel tapping, castanets and clapping. Besides the song 'María de la O', she sings fandangos, zambra, bulerías, tientos, jaleos... She is accompanied on the guitar by her father, José Amaya (El Chino), and by her brother, Paco Amaya (El Moro). Also singing in the jaleo through bulerías and the final fandango is her sister, Leonor Amaya.

The second volume consists of recordings from the years 1955 and 1956, also made in the Big Apple. Carmen Amaya sings rumba, romera, caña, siguiriya, the so-called 'Ritmo Amaya' ('Amaya Rhythm'), rondeña, alegrías, soleares, colombiana... and two songs written by the bailaora and guitarist Sabicas: 'Cuando pa Chile me voy' and a garrotín. Besides the aforementioned tocaor, she is accompanied by Juan Maya Marote and Pucherete; and also by Chato de Osuna and Domingo Alvarado on cante.

BOOK. 'El mar me enseñó a bailar'

See, listen... and also read. The written complement to the DVD and the two CDs is a thin book whose title was taken by Jordi Pujol Baulenas and Carlos García de Olalla from a sentence by Carmen Amaya herself: "The sea taught me how to dance". Published in Spanish, English and French, in these seventy-some pages illustrated with photos and posters, a documented journey is made through the personal and professional career of the legendary bailaora, which does justice to the subheading of this collector's pack: "The most temperamental and tragic figure in flamenco history".

The story begins in the slums of Somorrostro, in the outskirts of Barcelona in the years 1918 or 1919; there is no exact date. Used to dancing in the street, she débuted on stage at the age of six, at the Casa Escaño Café. After her family improvised a flamenco party at the Spanish Theater, the girl became a phenomenon who proved herself at Barcelona's Villa Rosa Hall, managed by guitarist Miguel Borrull. Carmen Amaya caused a sensation at the World's Fair in Barcelona in 1929 before an international audience. And word got around. An agent from Paris' Palace hires her and she triumphs by forming the Amaya Trio with her aunt La Faraona and her cousin María, which was good for a one-year contract. Upon her return to Barcelona, at the mere age of fourteen, she continued to stir up cafés, until she got to El Manquet, frequented by Vicente Escudero, who recommended her to American businessman Solomon Hurok.

The then-nicknamed 'La Capitana' leaves Barcelona. Her success all over Spain was not long in coming. Next in 1935, she dances at the Zarzuela Theater with Concha Piquer. And her appearances in films come. She takes part in 'Juan Simón's Daughter' and 'María de la O', from which excerpts appear on the DVD 'La reina del embrujo gitano'. Following Franco's coup d'état and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, she leaves the country and goes to Lisbon, from which point she crosses the Atlantic to end up at the Wonders Theater in Buenos Aires. She drove crowds mad there for six months with guitarists Ramón Montoya and Sabicas.

Her American exile would last eleven years. Finally, Solomon Hurok hired her to work for five years in America. Her triumph was such that even President Roosevelt invited her to the White House, even the magazine 'Life' put her on their cover. She leaves her first record recordings there. Neither Broadway nor Hollywood can resist her; she ends up dancing before audiences of up to twenty thousand people, taking part in films like 'Panama Hattie', 'Follow the Boys', 'Knickerbocker Holiday'... Following several tours, a stop in Mexico and another in Buenos Aires, she returns to Europe, World War II already having finished. And she does so performing at the Champs Elysées Theater in Paris. Europe, America, South Africa and the Middle East enjoy the phenomenon until her called-for return to Spain takes place in 1947. The artist reappeared at Barcelona's Tivoli Theater with the show 'Embrujo Español' ('Spanish Bewitchment'). And it was tremendous, just like in London.

Back in her hometown, she gets married in 1951 to Santander-born guitarist Juan Antonio Agüero. And she goes on dancing on stages big and small all over the world. Twelve years later, she returns to New York in 1955, more mature, more spectacular if possible, and starting there she goes on another tour all over the country. The tributes begin. Barcelona puts her name on a fountain at the waterfront in 1959 and, in compensation, she gives a charity concert at the Palau de la Música (Music Palace). She also receives the Fine Arts Circle of Madrid's Gold Medal. The kidney failure she was suffering from begins to make a dent in her health, and although she goes on dancing, she takes periods of rest at her home in Begur, in the province of Girona. In 1963 she shot her last film, 'Los Tarantos', by director Rovira Beleta, which has become her artistic last will and testament. Her illness then forces her to interrupt her tours. She had to stop dancing. And she did so for the last time in a charity performance in Begur, where she died shortly thereafter on November 19th, 1963.

This is a concise summary of the interesting story by Pujol and García de Olalla, to which they attach quotes that diverse personalities of the arts world devoted to Carmen Amaya. For instance, that of Jean Cocteau, for whom "Carmen Amaya is hail against a window pane, a swallow's cry, a cigar smoked by a woman dreamer, a storm of applause". And that of Orson Welles, who said that "she's the most artistic of dancers and the most brilliant of artists". And that of Charles Chaplin, who judged that "she's a volcano lit up by superb blazes of Spanish music"

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