 carmen amaya (2 november 1918&nbsp;â 19 november 1963) was a flamenco dancer and singer, of romani origin, born in the somorrostro slum of barcelona, spain, vila olÃ­mpica nowadays. she has been called "the greatest spanish gypsy dancer of her generation".clarke, mary & crisp, clement 1981. the history of dance. orbis, london. p60 and "the most extraordinary personality of all time in flamenco dance".clarke, mary & vaughan, david 1977. the encyclopedia of dance & ballet. pitman, london. p316 ==early life== carmen amaya was born on 2 november 1918 in a slum of somorrostro, barcelona, spain, to josÃ© amaya and micaela amaya moreno. she came from a very poor family that lived in a wagon. she was born under their wagon turned home during an early winter storm. amaya was the second of six surviving children; three sisters and two brothers. at a very early age, she learned flamenco from her mother, aunt and many other famous dancers of that time. ==career==  amaya first danced in a cave near granada, spain.herbert kadison. "flamenco firebrand." greenwich village chatter ii:11 (october, 1946), 5-7. she danced from the time she was five years old. accompanied on the guitar by her father, she danced in waterfront taverns in barcelona. a young person who saw her dance as a girl was sabicas (agustÃ­n castellÃ³n campos), who later said "i saw her dance and it seemed like something supernatural to me... i never saw anyone dance like her. i don't know how she did it, i just don't know!". sabicas became a great flamenco guitarist and accompanied her for many years.sevilla, paco 1999. queen of the gypsies: the life and legend of carmen amaya. sevilla press. excerpt by flamenco-world.com:  he recorded queen of the gypsies (1959) and flamenco! with amaya. in 1929, she made her debut in paris with noted spanish dancer raquel meller, to warm acclaim and admiration of her dancing skills. she then performe
1918_births 1963_deaths Castanets_players Catalan_musicians Flamenco_dancers Flamenco_singers Romani_dancers Romani_singers Spanish_Romani_people Spanish_female_singers