Nana lorca biography

You’re walking down the street in an average town in the United States. Or some other part of the world. Almost anywhere in fact. Tap someone on the shoulder, a complete stranger, man or woman: “May I ask you a question?” (Blank look.) “Could you please name a flamenco dancer? Any flamenco dancer…it’s for a survey.” If the stranger doesn’t take you for a mugger, he or she might answer “Carmen Miranda”. No, she’s the one who became famous in the 1940s singing with fruit piled high on her head. You might be expecting them to say “Carmen Amaya”, but it’s far more likely the person’s face will light up and they’ll answer “José Greco!” Such is the fame of Italian-born Costanzo Greco, raised in New York City in the 1930s.

I’ve been meaning to write about this extraordinary artist for some time, but for now, let’s look at one especially interesting aspect of “el Greco” as Spaniards call him: his eye for talent, and his determination to bring to the United States Spanish flamenco artists who might not otherwise have been seen outside Spain. Starting of course with our beloved and much missed genius eternum, Paco de Lucía. In 1962, the Chiquitos de Algeciras, Paco and his brother, singer Pepe de Algeciras (Pepe de Lucía), triumphed at the Concurso Internacional de Jerez de la Frontera, when the boys were 15 and 16 respectively. Shortly afterwards, Pepe was recruited by Greco, and he would eventually lobby to bring his younger brother Paco to join the company in the U.S. as well. The rest is history.

Over the years, José Greco brought other noteworthy guitarists into the country such as Manolo Barón, uncle of Manolo Franco, in addition to Vargas Araceli and Ricardo Modrego who recorded with Paco in 1964. But Greco’s knack for spotting talent was especially keen for dance. Farruco senior for one, and you could even stop right there. But he also incorporated our beloved doyenne of flamenc

Spanish flamenco guitarist (1934–2017)

Ricardo Modrego (19 October 1934 – 17 January 2017) was a Spanish flamenco guitarist from Madrid. He was the brother of Spanish-Flamenco dancer Nana Lorca. They both started their careers in Madrid in the early 1950s.

By 1953, the well-known brother and sister duo were under contract to tour South America with Spanish dancer Hurtado de Cordoba. In October 1954 the Cordoba Company debut at the 48th Street Theatre in New York to good reviews and poor ticket sales. The four-week contract played out for only two weeks. The brother and sister team found temporary work in the US but soon returned to Spain. In Madrid they auditioned for Pilar Lopez and joined her company touring in Spain and internationally. Ricardo recorded three albums with a young Paco de Lucia, his first albums, Dos guitarras flamencas (1964), 12 canciones de García Lorca para guitarra, and 12 éxitos para 2 guitarras flamencas (1965). In between the records the brother and sister team toured with the Jose Greco Spanish Dance Company. Nana later married Jose Greco and both of them toured the world as famous Spanish-Flamenco dancers. Ricardo also toured with Mariemma and Antonio Ruiz and joined the Greco's on tour from time to time. Jose and Nana had one son Paolo Greco, a film music composer. The Greco's divorced leaving both Nana Lorca and Paolo Greco to live in Madrid.

Ricardo Modrego, married dancer Teo Santelmo in 1969, they had two sons. In his later years Ricardo was teaching guitar in Madrid. He died in Madrid on January 17, 2017, of lung cancer, he was 82 years old.

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Content warning for homophobic language

“To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.”

– Federico García Lorca, Blood Wedding and Yerma

This week we’ll be looking at the life, poetry, and activism of Federico García Lorca. While his romances rarely ended well, Lorca made waves by being unapologetically queer in the face of a vindictive, bigoted, and aggressive Spanish government.

Biographies of Lorca indicate that he was born in Granada, Spain in 1898, the son of a well-off farmer of a father and a pianist mother. This family standing meant that Lorca would be educated – he attended the University of Granada to pursue a law degree after finishing school. However, Lorca dropped out to pursue his artistic work in both literature and theatre. There’s a debate here to be pursued in the modern era – college is considered a useful pursuit, but sometimes meaningless requirement classes can feel as though they’re taking up a student’s valuable time. Even if going to college provides a community for an artist to work with, the time strain can often limit one’s creativity.

Luckily for Lorca, he found a community outside of academia. Lorca had been writing poetry for some time and is said, according to a biography on LGBT History Month, to have read it allowed in public squares – this already suggests a) an absurd amount of self-confidence or courage and b) Lorca’s tendency to lean towards the theatrical. An article of Queerty elaborates on his experience with theatre, stating that artist Salvadore Dali and director Gregorio Martinez Sierra allowed Lorca the opportunity to write a play for their theatre and that in this environment, Lorca thrived. Lorca was also friends with homosexual Spanish composer, Manuel de Falla, according to Gay Influence; de Falla’s source material, found in the historical and cultural roots of Spain, mirrored Lorca’s own work. Lorca expressed beatific respect for his country as an idea