I was born in a gypsy family in a neighborhood that was washed away by the sea when there was a storm.
Neighborhood of shacks.
My mother raised four children and my father, a French gypsy, left with an in-law and started another very large family in the south of France.
Need.
At nine months, due to an infection, I became deaf, the doctor said that maybe with time I would be able to hear. I said my first word, mama, when I was 12 or 13.
Was your childhood happy?
I liked the Somorrostro, full of children, we played xarranca, jumping rope. I felt free in nature: the earth, the beach, the sun, the light, the moon and the animals, which were my company. The day in the street, playing, singing, dancing, clapping hands, gossiping.
And how did he start dancing?
Since I didn't speak, I spent a lot of time alone and would stand in front of a mirror and do poses, move my lips and dance as if I were someone else. I danced to my idea.
Did anyone in your family dance?
There is no one who knows about it. He marked the rhythm by snapping his fingers and in the field he went around and fell and came back, and come; I was walking, I was doing my poses. One day my mother took me to Los Jamones bar, where there was dancing.
And did he dance?
I was hungry. The waiter was a singer and there was a guitarist, and my mother told me: "If you're hungry, dance", and I started dancing and people gave me money, so then every Sunday we went there.
did he like
I loved it, and it conveyed a lot. All day I was waiting for the rhythms of the engines, the vibration of the speakers, the rumble of the train, where I took my steps from. I started appearing in the press.
And did it become professional?
My father appeared, I was 12 years old. He was illiterate, but he saw my photo in a newspaper and decided to be my representative. He abandoned all his children and came back, and badly. My mother suffered a lot.
Bad?
He was a macho man, mannered, suspicious and old. My mother was much more modern. I didn't like my father, he didn't let anyone approach me and he made me go to the beach dressed, he didn't even want me to show my arms. We were tied up.
When did the tours start?
A German representative saw me in Los Jamones. After winning in Madrid, we went to Germany with a group and the man started organizing shows for me and I won, and from there all over Europe as the headliner of the Gitano Flamenco Festival.
Were you already aware of how well she danced, and that she was very beautiful?
No, I didn't think of succeeding or dedicating myself to dance professionally, I wanted to dance for myself and be with my people, but the fact is that people were looking for me and they offered contracts to my father and, of course, it was money for the House.
Did you stop being happy?
Yes, at the age of 14 I did a big four-year tour of Europe, but I turned down contracts in Japan, the United States and Mexico because I was afraid of flying. I performed in more than 30 cities in stages such as the Olympia theater in Paris, and in Germany they said I was the best dancer in the world.
He shared a poster with Paco de Lucía.
And Camarón de la Isla, Lebrijano and I went on tour with Ella Fitzgerald to dance to jazz rhythms. I danced until I was 30, until I got sick with thyroid and fell into depression.
Rather than retreat, it disappeared.
I was in bed with depression for six years. I had put up with too much, my father dominated me, he kept me closed, I had no communication with anyone. I felt sadness and fear. When I met Antonio I wouldn't let him touch me, I looked like a wild colt.
But that talent!, how did he do it?
I would dance very close to the guitarists to feel the vibration, and when I wasn't sure I would turn around and look at my palms and count.
Unbelievable, with that strength.
Me, girl, I don't know if it's a gift from God or my nature. I read your lips, I have 15% hearing. I had to learn to speak: I stood in front of the mirror with a pencil in my mouth to pronounce well, I had the will.
At the age of 15, she shot Los Tarantos, nominated for an Oscar.
Rovira Beleta loved me very much, and Carmen Amaya, who was the protagonist. At breaks he would say to me: "Dance", and "again, dance"..., forgive me for the tears. She wanted to take me to America with her, but my parents didn't want to, and then she got sick. From his own mouth he told me: "You are my successor".
Where has he found happiness?
With the love I feel for Antonio, my children and grandchildren... I do what I want, I don't have the fame or the money I had, but I'm at peace.
