Rita Giménez García, most commonly known as Rita la Cantaora (1859 in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz – 1937 in Zorita del Maestrazgo, Castellón), was one of the most famous Spanish singers of flamenco in her time due to her performances in cafés cantantes, places where flamenco artists used to play music live.
Her career began in her home town, Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), where a theatrical agent heard her singing Andalusian coplas.
[1] Between 1884 and 1895, she worked on many occasions with distinguished artists, such as José Barea, María la Macarrona, las Borriqueras, el Malagueño, etc.
[2] She achieved such great success that "El Enano" magazine published a poem, in which they praised her extraordinary beauty and natural charm.
[3] La Cantaora began to appear on posters of one of the biggest and most famous stages for flamenco singers, dancers and guitar players: Madrid's Liceo Ríus, which would later be renamed 'Salón Variedades'.
In August, she also participated in the pantomime "La feria de Sevilla" along with singer Juan Breva and dancer Soledad Menéndez.
During the next few years, she performed alongside other major artists of the time, such as Fosforito el Viejo or Antonia Gallardo Rueda, whose stage name was 'La Coquinera'.
In an interview with La Estampa magazine in 1934, she admitted that although she had "lived the life of a queen", she ended up being "as poor as a church mouse.
[8] Rita passed away 29 June 1937 due to an asystole at the age of 78 in Zorita del Maestrazgo in the province of Castellón,[8] where she and the citizens of Carabanchel had been evacuated by the authorities in 1936, when the Spanish Civil War broke out.