Pastora Imperio
Pastora Imperio , actually Pastora Rojas Monje (* around 1887 in Seville , † September 14, 1979 in Madrid ), was a Spanish flamenco dancer and singer.
Life
Childhood and youth
The information about your date of birth is contradicting itself. José Luis Navarro García names April 13th, 1885, various sources on the Internet name 1889, the biography of María Estévez and Héctor Dona names April 13th 1987, and VIAF also names this date as well as 1888 and 1889 as possible years of birth. What is certain is that she was born in Seville as the daughter of Víctor Rojas, a respected tailor of torero costumes, and of Rosario Monje, better known under the stage name La Mejorana , flamenco dancer and star of the café cantantes era . When Pastora was born, however, the mother had already said goodbye to the flamenco stages.
After a few years the family moved to Madrid. There Pastora received her first formal dance training in the academy of Isabel Santos. In 1901 she had her first professional appearance at the Salón Japonés variety theater in Madrid, together with another young person, Mariquita la Roteña. The couple performed under the name Hermanas Imperio . Pastora danced, sang and recited . In 1902 she moved to the Salón Actualidades , where she had been offered a better paid job. There she met some of the most famous flamenco artists of the time: Amalia Molina , La Argentinita , La Oterito , La Fornarina and La Chelito . She danced the Farruca and the Garrotín and made the couplet ¡Luis! popular.
Touring, fame, and a brief marriage
In 1906 she was hired for the Gran Kursaal program . She then went on her first tour to Seville, Barcelona , Málaga and Córdoba . She performed under the stage name La Bella Imperio and mainly danced tangos .
In 1909 she left Spain for a tour to America. She had her first appearance in Havana . From there it went on to Mexico City . There she met the torero Rafael Gómez Ortega , known as El Gallo , who was courting her. However, she returned to Spain and accepted an engagement at the Salón Novedades in Málaga. The critic of the Unión Mercantil newspaper wrote of their performances:
«Tratase de una bailarina notabilísima; la mejor que hemos podido admirar en su género, con méritos reconocidos, inesperados, puesto que ninguna otra ha hecho revivir como ella, el verdadero arte andaluz, relegado al olvido por extranjeras danzas, exóticas y poco duraderas.
Su triunfo fue colosal: la farruca, el garrotín y los tangos con que exhibió su cuerpo gallardo, en graciosas ondulaciones, fueron calurosamente aplaudidos en una interminable ovación. »
“It is a most remarkable dancer; the best that we could admire in its genre, obviously of high standing, but unexpected, because no other has brought to life the true Andalusian art like it, which has been forgotten by foreign dances, exotic and unsustainable innovations.
Her triumph was colossal: The Farruca, the Garrotín and the Tangos, which she presented with her graceful body in graceful coils, were celebrated with an almost endless ovation with warm applause. "
After a few days, however, she gave up the engagement in the Salón Novedades to perform on other stages.
In February 1911 she married Rafael Gómez Ortega. However, the marriage lasted only a few months. The breakup was a big topic in the press as both were among the celebrities of their time. Then she was the model for the painter Julio Romero de Torres . The formal divorce did not take place until years later, in 1934.
El amor brujo
In March 1912 Pastora Imperio returned to the stage. She performed first in Seville, then in Madrid, and finally in Málaga. The reactions of the critics were as euphoric as before. Until 1914 she performed mainly in Madrid. With her singing she made the couplet ¡Viva Madrid! known. She then toured to Paris, Havana, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile , and again to Seville, Madrid and Barcelona to appear on the big stages of these cities.
In 1915 she made her first appearance on the big screen in the film La Danza fatal , directed by José de Togores. It was also the year El amor brujo premiered at the El Lara theater in Madrid . Manuel de Falla had dedicated the piece to her, but was still not enthusiastic when she added some of the dances to her repertoire. But she didn't let his cool reaction stop her.
Films and musicals
In 1917 another feature film appeared in which she participated, Gitana cañí , directed by Victor Rojas. From 1917 she played repeatedly in comedies and musicals that were written especially for her. The first of these pieces was La historia de Sevilla in El Lara . The following were also performed:
- 1918 Zinela Cayi (fantasía gitana) to the music of Candido Larruga and the libretto by Juan Antonio Cavestany;
- La cruz de mayo by Salvador Valverde;
- Soy la cigarrera and La violetera by José Padilla;
- Enseñanza libre ;
- Most recently in 1958, Te espero en el Eslava , directed by Luis Escobar .
Other films she starred in in later years were:
- 1939 María de la O , directed by Francisco Elías and La marquesona , directed by Eusebio Fernández Ardavín
- 1943 Canelita en rama , directed by Eduardo García Maroto
- 1949 El amor brujo , directed by Antonio Román
- 1954 Estoy tan enamorada , shot in Mexico and directed by Jaime Salvador
- 1958 Pan, amor y… Andalucía , directed by Javier Setó
- 1959 Duelo en la cañada directed by Manuel Mur Oti
1917-1942
In 1917 she made an appearance in front of the Spanish royal family at a benefit event for the Red Cross . She was now one of the most popular show artists of her time. However, when her mother died in 1922, she announced her withdrawal from the big performances and tours. She looked after her little daughter Rosario and only appeared in the Teatro Maravillas in Madrid. It is believed that the daughter emerged from a love affair with Fernando de Borbón, a cousin of the Spanish King Alfonso XIII.
Only in 1924 did she appear in Valencia with La Niña de los Peines , La Marchena and Antonio Chacón in front of the Italian royal couple on the occasion of their visit to Spain.
However, their withdrawal was not permanent. In 1930 she presented herself again in a large flamenco show in Málaga, together with La Macarrona . After another hiatus, she made a major performance in Madrid in 1934. Among other things, she presented the autobiographical Paso Doble Retrato lírico that Álvaro Retana and José Casanova had written for the occasion. At the Teatro Español she appeared together with La Argentina , Vicente Escudero and Miguel de Molina in a new production of El amor brujo .
She performed again in Malaga this year. Again she was enthusiastically celebrated by the critics. Her self-confidence matched this fame. She sang about herself:
Con la mirada muy alta
y andares de emperaora
siempre el orgullo de España
¡Soy Pastora!
The
pride of Spain is always the pride of
an empress with a high glance
.
I am, Pastora!
The later years
In 1942 Pastora Imperio opened a grocery store called La Capitana outside Madrid with her son-in-law Rafael Vega, called El Gitanillo de Triana . She actually withdrew from the stage, with the exception of the film roles mentioned above and with the exception of sporadic appearances, for example an appearance in a performance by Pilar López's company in 1946 and at the opening of the Tablao Corral de la Morería in Madrid in 1956 .
In 1958 she opened the Tablao El Duende in Madrid together with Rafael Vega . They opened and operated other tablaos in Marbella and Biarritz .
Pastora Rojas Monje died on September 14, 1979 in Madrid of a heart condition.
reception
José Luis Navarro García emphasizes that her art belongs to the best that was offered in the era of the café cantantes . Later, from the 1920s, she contributed with her mixture of flamenco and couplet chants to the fact that the theatrical Ópera flamenca conquered the stages and stadiums.
Pastora Imperio had a significant influence on the work of Manuel de Falla . It is questionable whether El amor brujo would have come about at all without their participation. Manuel de Falla himself said that in the three months that Pastora and her mother had been with him almost every day, singing and reciting, he had experienced some of the happiest moments of his life. Jacinto Benavente wrote about their effect:
"Esta niña vale un imperio"
"This girl is worth an empire"
Navarro García described her as the "muse of artists". Ramón Díaz Mirete dedicated the following verses to her:
Pastora, ave cautiva que el infinito añora.
Pastora, llanto, penas, esfinge evocadora
De sufrimientos hondos.
Pastora, melodía,
palillos, ritmo, gracia, serenidad;
Bravura, sangre, fuego.
Pastora, ¡Andalucía!
Pastora, the captive bird that infinity longs for.
Pastora, crying, mourning, suffering, Sphinx
that conjures deep suffering.
Pastora, melody,
castanets , rhythm, grace, equanimity;
Bravery, blood, fire.
Pastora: Andalusia!
Of the many enthusiastic poems that have been dedicated to her, the following should be quoted, written by the journalist and poet Eduardo Marquina :
A la Imperio
Cuando tú naciste
El sol se eclipsó,
y es que al ver tus ojillos diría:
- ¡Aquí sobro yo!
Al ver tus ojos tan dulces
y tan bonitos, gitana,
me digo: ¿Cómo es posible
que hagan daño tus miradas?
Son tus ojitos, gitana,
como los rayos del sol;
si los cierras siente frío,
y si los abres calor.
To the Imperio
when you were born.
the sun darkened,
and when I see your eyes, I would like to say:
- Here I am superfluous!
I see your eyes,
so cute and beautiful, Gitana.
I say to myself: How can it be
that your looks hurt?
Your eyes, Gitana,
are like the rays of the sun;
when you close it it feels cold,
when you open it it feels warm.
Her green eyes were particularly fascinating. Ramón Pérez de Ayala wrote about them:
«Todo era furor y vértigo; pero al propio tiempo, todo era acompasado y medido. Y había en el centro de aquella vorágine de movimiento un a modo de eje estático, apoyado en do puntas de fascinación, en dos piedras preciosas, en dos enormes y encendidas esmeraldas; los ojos de la bailarina. "
“Everything was frenzy and frenzy; but at the same time everything was measured and controlled. And in the center of this whirling movement was a kind of static axis, resting on two fascinating points, two precious stones, two huge and fiery emeralds : the eyes of the dancer. "
Web links
References and comments
- ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume II.Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-71-4 , pp. 39 .
- ↑ Monumentos Flamencos: Pastora Imperio. In: Revista La Flamenca. November 11, 2014, accessed February 26, 2019 (Spanish).
- ↑ a b Pastora Imperio. In: El Arte de Vivir el Flamenco. Retrieved February 26, 2019 (Spanish).
- ↑ a b c BiografiaCompleta: Biografía de Pastora Imperio. In: Biografiacompleta.net. Retrieved February 26, 2019 (Spanish).
- ↑ a b c d e María Estévez, Héctor Dona: Reina del Duende . La vida, los amores y el arte de una mujer apasionada, Pastora Imperio. Roca Editorial de Libros, Barcelona 2012, ISBN 978-84-9918-498-2 ( google.de [accessed February 28, 2019]).
- ^ Person search Pastora Imperio. In: VIAF. Retrieved February 26, 2019 (Spanish).
- ↑ Hermana ( Spanish ) = sister
- ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume II, p. 24 .
- ^ Ana: Las mujeres y Julio Romero de Torres: Pastora Imperio. In: Artencordoba.com. December 4, 2014, Retrieved February 28, 2019 (Spanish).
- ↑ a b Manuel Román: Desvelado el secreto de la legendaria Pastora Imperio. In: Libertad Digital. September 8, 2013, Retrieved March 1, 2019 (European Spanish).
- ^ La danza fatal (1915). Full cast & crew. In: IMDb. Accessed February 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Manuel de Falla: El amor brujo: gitanería en un acto y dos cuadros, escrita expresamente para Pastora Imperio . Facsimile of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Library. R. Velasco, Madrid 1915 ( archive.org [accessed February 28, 2019]).
- ↑ Kirsten Bachmann: Flamenco (dance): for the instrumentalization of a myth in the Franco era . Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, 2009, ISBN 978-3-8325-2249-0 , p. 47 ( google.de [accessed on February 28, 2019]).
- ↑ Gitana cañí in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ Ángeles Cruzado: bailaora Pastora Imperio. In: flamencasporderecho.com. April 11, 2014, p. 6 , accessed February 28, 2019 (Spanish).
- ↑ Antonio Iglesia: Estreno de "Te espero en Eslava" . In: ABC . Madrid December 21, 1957, p. 67–68 (Spanish, abc.es [accessed February 28, 2019]).
- ↑ María de la O in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ La marquesona in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ Canelita en rama (1943). Full cast & crew. In: IMDb. Accessed February 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Kirsten Bachmann: Flamenco (dance): for the instrumentalization of a myth in the Franco era . Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, 2009, ISBN 978-3-8325-2249-0 , p. 95–96 ( google.de [accessed on February 28, 2019]).
- ↑ El amor brujo (1949). Full cast & crew. In: IMDb. Accessed February 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Estoy enamorada taan (1954). Full cast & crew. In: IMDb. Retrieved on February 28, 2019 (English, sic; typo in the film title at IMDb).
- ^ Bread, Love and Andalucia (1958). Full cast & crew. In: IMDb. Accessed February 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Duelo en la cañada (1959). Full cast & crew. In: IMDb. Accessed February 28, 2019 .
- ^ E. Barcena: La boda de Pastora Imperio y "El Gallo": asi fue la primera gran unión entre un torero y una folklórica . In: ABC . Madrid February 20, 2018 (Spanish, abc.es [accessed February 28, 2019]).
- ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume II, p. 35-37 .
- ↑ sic, no typo, but Andalusian dialect
- ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume III. Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-72-1 , p. 204 .
- ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume II, p. 39 .
- ↑ Kirsten Bachmann: Flamenco (dance): for the instrumentalization of a myth in the Franco era . Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, 2009, ISBN 978-3-8325-2249-0 , p. 21 ( google.de [accessed on February 28, 2019]).
- ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume II, p. 32-34 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Imperio, Pastora |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rojas Monje, Pastora (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | spanish flamenco dancer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1887 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Seville |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 14, 1979 |
| Place of death | Madrid |