Blanca Suárez

Legendary singer, actress, comedienne, and composer who started her remarkable entertainment career at age 12. Actually "Blanquita" was born backstage at a theater in San Sebastián while her father performed up front. She belonged to a family that had been in show business for several generations. Her father was a baritone and her mother sang in the chorus of various zarzuela companies, while her grandfather was a prompter at the Apolo Theater. Her younger sister, Cándida Suárez, was a well-known soprano whose career was at its height in the 1930's and 1940's. Perky, smart and versatile, "Blanquita" became the darling of Spanish entertainment in the first two decades of the 20th century and is still remembered as a symbol of that era. She did it all: plays, music revues, operettas, zarzuelas, but she excelled in her one woman show where she sang risky "cuplés" using her charismatic delivery and infallible sense of humor. Her performances were always crowd pleasers since she knew how to reach an audience that often included aristocrats, politicians, intellectuals, and artists of every persuasion. One of her biggest admirers was painter Pablo Picasso who eventually asked her to pose for him. The collaboration produced various sketches and the famous oil painting "Blanquita Suárez" (1917) which has been marketed through various products including the ever popular "Blanquita Picasso silk scarfs". The original painting is on display at the Picasso Museum (Museu Picasso) in Barcelona. During the roaring 20's, Blanquita was caught up in the spirit of the times which was evident in her life style. She turned into the typical flapper, free and independent, disregarding all social convention. Her act became imbued by those influences consequently she was perceived as an vanguard artist and her female audience saw her as a symbol. In 1928 she gave birth to a daughter out of wedlock named Teresa who was raised by her biological father Juan Mora in Barcelona. Blanquita Suárez's impact also covered the recording industry and she left an important discography that includes some of her greatest hits like "Señores, venga alegría", "La manicura moderna", "Chotis de la gasolina", "Cuplés de Nueva York", "La niña pera", as well as some of her own compostions like "Don José", and the emblematic "Fado Blanquita" written for her by author Álvaro Retana with lyrics by Rafael Adam Balges. However, Blanquita's film career was not as rewarding as her triumphant achievements on stage and records. She was featured in "La verdad" (1917), and "Fabricante de suicidios" (1928) both silent films that could never capture the immensity of her talents. The fact is she was too much in demand for performances on stage to waste valuable time on the cinema which she considered a "soundless novelty". By the time the talkies arrived in Spain, Blanquita was offered mostly supporting roles in a few films, a clear sign that her star had been fading at an alarming rate. In spite of the low value placed on her name by the film industry, she remained a big draw in theaters during the 1930's, and 1940's due mostly to her fame and reputation as a great entertainer. As 1950 approached, Blanquita saw less offers for work in her homeland but she was always in demand in Barcelona at El Paralelo, the city's theater district where they still considered her the undisputed "Queen of El Paralelo". Blanquita performed often at the legendary El Molino although she had to share the stage and the limelight with other performers. For the last decade she had changed her act stressing comedy over straight singing and the change added some more years to her career. In 1958 she played the part of an outrageous old lady singing one of her hits in the film "La violetera". According to the script, while singing she is being heckled by an unruly audience that boos her off the stage. Before leaving, she achieves a moment of true hilarity when she sticks her tongue out to the hecklers. It was a minute of true Blanquita fun and about this time she told a reporter "I am an artist. Outside I may have changed a lot, but inside I am still the same". She continued performing mostly at El Paralelo even when her health started to fail. Blanquita did not consider retirement admitting publicly that she had made a fortune when young but had never saved any money thus she was forced to continue. By 1970 she could no longer ignore her physical deterioration and announced her retirement. First she continued paying for an apartment in Barcelona but after a couple of years she moved to a nursing residence in Madrid. She came out of retirement in various occasions to attend tributes organized by official cultural institutions. Blanca Sárez, the beloved "Blanquita", passed away quietly in 1983 of heart failure.