Carmen Flores

Spanish singer of Andalusian folk songs (coplas), kid sister of the legendary Lola Flores. Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain, she was the youngest daughter of Pedro Flores, who owned and tended a modest bar, and Rosario Ruiz, a seamstress. Her older siblings were the mentioned Lola, born in 1923, and Manolo, born in 1934. In order to launch Lola's professional career as a copla singer and dancer, the family sold everything they had and migrated to Madrid in 1940. They struggled for a few years but eventually Lola's talents won the day and she became the bread winner for the family. In 1949 the Flores clan was dealt a tragic blow when Manolo died at age 15 due to a peritonitis. The family was devastated but the tragedy served to unite them more in their resolve to survive. Lola achieved great success on stage and began showing up in films. The powerful film producer Cesáreo González of Suevia Films sensed Lola's great potential as a movie star and signed her to an exclusive contract that included promotional tours of Latin America. By then, sister Carmen was also giving evidence of her own talents as a singer and Lola became her enthusiastic mentor and benefactor, demanding that all her contracts for stage and films must include Carmen as well as traveling accommodations for her parents. During a concert tour with Cesáreo González, Carmen Flores, barely a teenager, made her professional debut at the Esperanza Iris Theater in Mexico City with resounding success. From then on Lola and Carmen became a united force that conquered audiences as well as critics everywhere they performed. In the early 1950's Carmen, like her sister, became a recording act and continued performing in her sister's stage musicals and films. However in 1959 it all came to an abrupt end when Carmen fell in love with star football player Isidro Sánchez and decided to get married and raise a family. The couple would eventually procreate four children which kept Carmen quite busy during her retirement years although she did a couple of guest appearances in Lola's stage musicals. Ten years later, Carmen could no longer ignore that her husband was being unfaithful and that her marriage was over. She divorced Isidro and found herself broke due to his mismanagement of the couple's finances. With four kids to support she had to return to work and, as always, she was aided by sister Lola who by now had achieved super stardom status. Copla hit makers Manuel Quiroga and Rafael de León also came to her rescue by composing a new repertoire especially for her and the Columbia label did not miss the opportunity to record her. Her old public was delighted and a new generation was fascinated by an artist who reconquered the place she deserved in the music industry with her talents. As time passed, Carmen was smart enough to keep developing as a vocalist, and slowly her Andalusian coplas became more pop influenced. Hence her act acquired new dimensions that made her attractive to audiences in discotheques, supper clubs and television. Of course that did not stop her from appearing with her dear sister Lola whenever the opportunity arose until 1995 when the great Lola Flores died a victim of cancer. By then the Flores clan also included her sister's daughters Lolita and Rosario, as well as son Antonio who unfortunately passed away two weeks after his famous mother at age 33. Carmen continued performing and recording as a solo act although sometimes she would also join her nieces in national and international tours. In the late 1990's Carmen found remarkable success in Argentina and moved there temporarily in order to fulfill the demands of her adoring public. She traveled extensively as a one woman show touring Argentinean theaters and also appearing often on television. She signed with a new record label and her live concerts were released on home video formats. In spite of her many commitments in Argentina, Carmen was able to perform often in Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, the United States, and her own country Spain remaining a favorite of music fans for many years.