Pastora Imperio

Pastora Rojas Monje (April 13, 1887, in Seville – September 14, 1979, in Madrid), known professionally as Pastora Imperio, was a dancer from Seville and one of the most representative figures of flamenco folklore of all time. She was the great-grandmother of the Spanish actress Pastora Vega. Pastora Imperio stood out as one of the best artists of the time because of her repertoire.

Thanks to her personality, she was highly popular; she also earned the admiration of the intellectual and artistic world of the time. She became a muse for painters, poets and other artists, such as Julio Romero de Torres, who painted her portrait, or Mariano Benlliure, who was inspired by her figure to create one of his sculptures. Literary figures such as Ramón Díaz Mirete, Ramón Pérez de Ayala, Tomás Borrás and the Álvarez Quintero brothers, wrote about her. All of them highlighted her qualities and praised her as a great artist. She received many awards for her artistic career, among them the Lazo de Dama de la Orden de Isabel la Católica and the first gold medal of the Segunda Semana de Estudios Flamencos, celebrated in Málaga in 1964. She was also a friend of Queen Victoria Eugenia and had a signed photo of Alfonso XIII.

During the period between 1942 and 1954, except for a brief collaboration with the dancer Pilar López in 1946, she ran the venta La Capitana, a place frequented by various artists and owned by the bullfighter Gitanillo de Triana. In 1957 she participated in the premiere of Dónde vas Alfonso XII, by Luca de Tena, at the Teatro Lara, and in 1958 she was also part of a show by Luis Escobar entitled Te espero en Eslava.

She retired permanently in 1959, after a series of performances in Barcelona. Once retired, she founded in Madrid, together with her son-in-law Rafael Vega de los Reyes, the tablao El Duende, and in 1964 she opened another one in Marbella (Málaga), Los Monteros.