Gypsy Queen

The legendary Carmen Amaya.

The sound of her voice kills me. Her dancing is beyond divine. The bravado. And then there are her intensely frilly and polka-dotted costumes. I feel like August is the time of year when I yearn for Carmen Amaya (1913-1963), the famous flamenco dancer from Barcelona, who began her professional career at 4 years old. She moved to the US in the 1930s, and, luckily, the web is full of tributes and clips of her dancing. What an amazing woman.

(I guess if I only had time to watch one video, I’d watch the 3rd one down.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvd-MALA7tw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39IxR0TatzQ&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP3Gho5qe4Y&feature=related[/youtube]

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vc5LAF3S5o&feature=related[/youtube]