Blanca Paloma Ramos Baeza is a Spanish singer, set designer and costume designer born in 1989 in Elche, Valencia Community.In February 2023 she won in Benidorm Fest 2023 with the song "EAEA" and thus represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool (9th to 13th May 2023) with the song "EAEA" where she came a disapointing 17th position.
From its inception, the punk movement rebelled against the status quo. Paloma Romero (aka Palmolive, member of the Slits and the Raincoats) found that this anarchical musical genre was the perfect means for criticising injustice. Whether this was the fascist regime of General Franco in her native Spain or the misogyny of London in the 1970s, Palmolive found plenty to criticize.
Probably the town's most famous sons are the pop band, Danza Invisible. The band, which was formed in Torremolinos in 1981, has kept close links with the town, even though they are now based in Madrid. The band were pioneers of the La Movida Madrileña, a countercultural movement that emerged during the early years of the transition from the Franco era.
One of today's most famous residents of Torremolinos is José Losada, the celebrated flamenco dancer artistically known as El Carrete de Málaga. Dubbed the 'Gypsy Fred Astaire', José has performed on stages all over the world with just about every top name in the business.
The legendary Dutch pianist Pia Beck owned the famous Blue Note Bar, which was situated in the Pasaje Begoña (now Pasaje Gil Vicente). This popular basement club's centrepiece was two grand pianos, one of which became a bar top: Pia would often entertain her clients on the other.
The first interesting connection between John Lennon and Andalucía was his trip to Torremolinos with The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, in the summer of 1963. They spent two weeks there on holiday together, partly because Torremolinos was more accepting of gay people like Epstein, than Liverpool was at the time.
This 16-year-old multi-lingual, globe-trotting musician, actress and environmental campaigner, lived in Frigiliana for five years. Now the American child prodigy is back in Andalucia and is playing two concerts, in Estepona and Torrox Pueblo, in June 2017.
Joe Strummer (1952-2002) was founder and lead singer of the punk rock band The Clash. His life story and the rise and fall of The Clash are well documented. Less known, especially in the UK, is his strong association with Granada and San José (Almería) in Andalucía.
One can not learn to sing flamenco if it is not inside you. But talent is not enough to make it, especially if you have the ambition to extend your art beyond Spain. In the beautiful theatre Handelsbeurs (HA’) in Gent, Belgium, I had the privilege to attend a unique concert of India Martinez Fernandez.
Vicente Escudero was probably the most controversial flamenco dancer ever. His refusal to conform to tradition and his disregard of the “compas” (rhythm) made him the victim of much criticism. It is a fact that if you do not possess “compas”, then you will not perform good flamenco, but Vicente Escudero had flamenco “compas”.
José Fernandez Torre, or "Tomatito" (little tomato), as he is artistically known was born into a family of flamenco guitarists. His Grandfather was El Tomate Viejo (the old tomato), his uncle was "Niño Miguel" and his father was El Tomate (the tomato).
Tomas Pavón, the younger brother of La Niña de los Peines, was a fine singer who preferred the lesser-known flamenco styles like the deblas and toñas. Unfortunately his career spanned what was believed to be one of the worst eras in flamenco history, the opera flamenco.
Tomas el Nitri, considered one of the most important singers in the history of the cante flamenco, was born in Arcos de la Frontera some time around 1830 and died in 1890. There are as many myths as there are question marks surrounding el Nitri`s life, stories like the one of his demise after choking on his own blood.
Luis Montoya Garcés, or Tio Luis el de Juliana, as he was artistically known, was a gypsy water carrier who was born in Jerez de la Frontera in 1760, and he is the first recorded singer in the poorly documented history of the flamenco song.
Terremoto was another famed singer to come from the Barrio Santiago district of Jerez de la Frontera. Fernando Fernández Monje was born in 1934, in the very heart of old Jerez and he was related to some of the most illustrious members of the gypsy community that lived there.
In October this year, Tamara's latest and 10th album, Amores (Lovers) will be released. Are you thinking about launching another album yet or do you want to get the most out of this one first? In June, I finished recording another album in Mexico that will be released on to the market at the end of this year or the beginning of the next.
Manuel Soto Sordera was born in 1927 in the Barrio Santiago, the very core of the gypsy population in Jerez de la Frontera. He was born in a Casa de Vecino, or tenement block, which were typical dwellings for the underprivileged, where family life was centered on a courtyard that was shared by ten or fifteen families, most commonly gypsy.
Silverio Franconetti Aguila was born in Seville in 1831, but grew up in the place where his mother was born, Moron de la Frontera, a small town in the province of Seville. He was a legendary singer who was honored as being the first non-gypsy cantaor to receive any serious attention on the flamenco scene.
Sergio Aranda Santos isprobably the best dancer Málaga has produced for many years. This young “bailaor” (flamenco dancer) is set for a bright future, his dance is choreographed but not overly polished, and he has “compas” (the much-coveted flamenco rhythm)and “gracia” (natural grace), two important elements of flamenco dance.
Sara Pereyra Baras was born in Cadiz in 1971 and from an early age received dance instruction from her mother. She had her first dance lessons at La Tertulia Flamenca de la Isla, in San Fernando, an academy that was run by her mother Concha Vargas and after this she joined Los Niños de la Tertulia Flamenco, where she served her apprenticeship as a flamenco dancer.
