September 13
Born Today:
Pilar Rioja
The daughter of Spanish immigrants, dancer Pilar Rioja (1932-) grew up in Mexico and learned traditional Mexican and Spanish dances as a youth. She began presenting dance concerts in 1947 and in 1950 she moved to Mexico City to study professionally and continued visiting Spain to study flamenco in the 1960s. She met influential dance teacher Manolo Vargas in 1970 and in 1972, she danced in the opera Carmen accompanied by singer Placido Domingo, cementing her reputation as “The Queen of Flamenco”. Rioja toured internationally well into her seventies, getting better and better with age.
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Movie: Thousands Cheer released in 1943