Rita la Cantaora

Rita Giménez García, most commonly known as Rita la Cantaora (1859–1937), 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.

Career beginnings From an early age, she distinguished herself for her outstanding talent, not only for singing flamenco but also for dancing it, which became her way of making a living. Her career began in her home town, Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), where a theatrical agent heard her singing Andalusian coplas. He hired her and from that moment on, she began to perform with other famous flamenco singers, such as Juana La Macarrona and Antonio Ortega, most commonly known as Juan Breva, in cafés cantantes, such as the famous Café Romero, placed on Calle Alcalá in Madrid, Spanish capital city. She achieved such great success that "El Enano" magazine published a poem, in which they praised her extraordinary beauty and natural charm.

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 1901, Alrededor del mundo magazine acknowledged her as "one of the best flamenco singers of the time". A year later, she returned to the Salón Variedades’ stage to perform alongside Paca Aguilera.

In 1906, she was a member of the flamenco troupe 'El Café del Gato'. 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 the 1920s, she had the chance to work with Manuel Pavón and Manuel Escacena, becoming one of the most prominent flamenco figures in the Spanish capital of the early 20th century.

The initial stage of her career was extremely busy, and as time went by, it became impossible to keep up with that lifestyle. As a consequence, her singing career began to suffer. 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."

Her last live performance took place three years before her death in 1934, at Café de Magallanes in Madrid. It was a charity festival, in which many veteran artists participated, such as La Coquinera or Fosforito, who had asked Rita to take part in the event. She sang two songs: a malagueña by Fosforito, called "Desde que te conocí" and "Males que acarrea el tiempo", by La Serneta and Enrique El Mellizo. According to Er Compás magazine, she was proud of being able to perform in such a great event despite being 75 years old.

After establishing a friendship with Patricio el Feo, she moved with him to Carabanchel Alto. Then she met Manuel González Flores, a dump truck worker, who she considered her husband, even though they were not legally married. Manuel was a widower and had a daughter and four grandchildren. In 1930, Manuel died suddenly. After that, Rita took care of his daughter and her children and she spent the rest of her life helping them with housework duties.