<<
Previous | Next
>>
Bailaora Manuela
Vargas dies at the age of 66. Manuela Vargas
in 'La flor de mi secreto' by Pedro Almodóvar (1995)
Bailaora Manuela
Vargas dies at the age of 66. The great
artist, born in Seville in 1941, passed away on October 12th,
2007 as the result of the cancer which had kept her away from
stages for some time. The bailaora, who won the Gold Medal for
Merit in the Fine Arts last year, will always be remembered
for her role in ‘Medea’ in 1984 for the Ballet Nacional
de España, the company she would create choreographies
for such as ‘Baile por caña’, ‘Petenera’
and ‘Mirabrás’ from 1980 to 1983. The artist
was also awarded the International Dance Prize by the Théâtre
des Nations of Paris in 1964, following the premiere of ‘Antología
dramática del flamenco’. She took her shows to
great stages all over the world, including the Spanish Pavilion
at the World’s Fair in New York. She also had many roles
in theater with directors such as Miguel Narros, Francisco Nieva
and Salvador Távora. And in cinema, it was Pedro Almodóvar
who gave her a role in ‘La flor de mi secreto’;
that of Joaquín Cortés’s mother. Her art
was praised by critics and writers, among them, José
María Pemán, who said of her that “Manuela
Vargas is dark beauty become music, agility and rhythm. She
has that ineffable mystery which is poise: the most agile and
stately occupation of space”. Her burial, which was held
at Seville Cemetery, was attended by colleagues such as Matilde
Coral, Cristina Hoyos, Salvador Távora, Curro Fernández
and Fosforito, among others.
