Concepción Velasco Varona OAXS MML (born 29 November 1939), known professionally as Concha Velasco, or Conchita Velasco in her beginnings, is a Spanish actress, singer and television presenter. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career in film, theater and television spanning over six decades, including two National Theater Awards presented by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1972 and 2016, the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the

Spanish Television Academy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

in 2009 and the

Honorary Goya Award The Goya Awards are Spain's main national annual film awards. Here is a list of Honorary Goya Award The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain. The award ...

presented by the Spanish Film Academy in 2012. Some of her credits include leading film performances in '' Red Cross Girls'' (1958), '' Los tramposos'' (1959), '' The Fair of the Dove'' (1963), '' Television Stories'' (1965), '' The Witching Hour'' (1985) and '' Beyond the Garden'' (1996); stage performances in ''¡Mamá, quiero ser artista!'', in several plays that author

Antonio Gala Antonio Gala Velasco (born 2 October 1930) is a Spanish poet, playwright, novelist and writer. Life and career Gala was born in Brazatortas, Ciudad Real ( Castile-La Mancha), although he moved very soon to Córdoba and is widely considered an ...

wrote for her and in the Spanish productions of '' Filumena Marturano'' and '' Hello, Dolly!''; television performances in '' Teresa de Jesús'' and '' Herederos'' on

Televisión Española Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in ...

, ''

Motivos personales ''Motivos Personales'' was a Spanish-language mystery thriller television series produced by Round Productions, Globomedia and Picasso's Studio and distributed by Warner Bros.' international unit. The show ran for 2 seasons between February 1 an ...

'' on

Telecinco Telecinco is a Spanish free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset España. The channel was previously known as Tele 5, because it had first begun its experimental transmissions on 10 March 1989, and a year later, it was officially laun ...

and '' Gran Hotel'' on

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, as well as in numerous television shows as a presenter for those three networks. She has been also the recipient of many honors. The

Government of Spain gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...

honored her with the

Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts The Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts ( es, Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes, link=no) is awarded by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain to individuals or institutions excelling in artistic or cultural creation or to thos ...

in 1987, the Gold

Medal of Merit in Labour The Medal of Merit in Labour ( es, Medalla al Mérito en el Trabajo) is a civil medal awarded in Spain by the Council of Ministers in its gold category and by the Ministry of Labour in its silver and bronze categories to individuals or institu ...

in 2008 and with the Grand Cross of the

Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise ( es, Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio) is a Spanish civil order established in 1939, recognising activities in the fields of education, science, culture, higher education and research. The order was create ...

in 2016. The Spanish Film Academy honored her with its Gold Medal in 2003.

Career

Velasco was born in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peo ...

in 1939. At the age of ten, she moved to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

where she studied classical and Spanish dance at the National Conservatory. She made her debut as a dancer in the ''

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (educat ...

'' of the

La Coruña LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

opera and later worked as a flamenco dancer with

Manolo Caracol Manuel Ortega Juárez (9 July 1909 – 24 February 1973) was a Spanish flamenco cantaor (singer). Life and family Born in Seville, Spain, he was descended from a long line of flamenco artists including Enrique Ortega (father and son) and Cur ...

and as

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

dancer with Celia Gámez. She began her career in the cinema at the age of fifteen in several titles as a supporting actress. Her first films as a leading actress was '' Red Cross Girls'' (1958). During the 1960s and 1970s she combined her work starring in films and in plays for theater and television. In the film '' Television Stories'' (1965) she performed the song "Chica ye ye" composed by

Augusto Algueró Augusto Algueró Dasca (23 February 1934 – 16 January 2011) was a Spanish composer, arranger and music director. He wrote more than 500 songs and about 200 musical scores for films and television. Career Algueró was born in Barcelona, and s ...

with lyrics by Antonio Guijarro. The song became a hit and she suddenly found success as a ''

yé-yé ''Yé-yé'' () (''yeyé'' in Spanish) was a style of pop music that emerged in Western-Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term "''yé-yé''" was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music bands such as ...

'' singer recording eight albums. During the 1970s and 1980s she performed more serious roles. Her most successful role for television was in '' Teresa de Jesús'' (1984) as

Teresa of Ávila Teresa of Ávila, OCD (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada; 28 March 15154 or 15 October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer. Active during the ...

. Also in the 1980s she launched her career as television presenter hosting the New Year's Eve variety shows to welcome 1985, 1986 and 1987 on

. On 14 March 2018 she announced that, after a career of 64 years, the

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, fro ...

''El funeral'' would be her last. She retired on 21 September 2021 with her last performance of the play ''La habitación de María'' at Theatre of Bretón de los Herreros in

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...

Filmography

Film

* 1954: ''El bandido generoso'' * 1955: '' The Moorish Queen'' as Bailaora * 1956: ''La fierecilla domada'' * 1956: ''Dos novias para un torero'' * 1956: ''Los maridos no cenan en casa'' * 1957: ''Mensajeros de paz'' * 1957: ''Muchachas en vacaciones'' * 1958: '' Red Cross Girls'' as Paloma * 1959: ''El día de los enamorados'' as Conchita * 1959: '' Los tramposos'' as Julita * 1959: ''Crimen para recién casados'' * 1959: ''Vida sin risas'' * 1960: ''Amor bajo cero'' * 1960: ''Julia y el celacanto'' * 1960: '' Peace Never Comes'' as Paula * 1961: '' The Reprieve'' as Antonia * 1961: ''Trampa para Catalina'' * 1961: ''Martes y trece'' * 1961: '' My Wedding Night'' as Fernanda Jiménez * 1961: ''Festival en Benidorm'' as Lía / María / Estefanía * 1962: ''Sabían demasiado'' * 1963: ''La boda era a las doce'' * 1963: '' The Fair of the Dove'' as Susana / Mari Loli * 1964: ''Casi un caballero'' * 1965: '' Television Stories'' as Katy * 1965: ''Susana'' * 1965: ''

Honeymoon, Italian Style ''Honeymoon, Italian Style'' (Italian: ''Viaggio di nozze all'italiana'') is a 1966 Italian-Spanish comedy film directed by Mario Amendola and starring Tony Russel, Concha Velasco and Ferruccio Amendola.Small p.108 The film's sets were design ...

'' as Rosetta de Curtis * 1965: '' La frontera de Dios'' * 1966: ''El arte de no casarse'' * 1966: ''Hoy como ayer'' * 1966: ''El arte de casarse'' * 1966: ''

'' * 1967: ''Pero... ¿en qué país vivimos?'' * 1967: '' Las Locas del conventillo'' as María * 1967: ''Las que tienen que servir'' as Juana Cortés * 1968: ''Una vez al año, ser hippy no hace daño'' * 1968: ''Relaciones casi públicas'' as Marta * 1968: ''Los que tocan el piano'' * 1969: ''Cuatro noches de boda'' * 1969: ''Matrimonios separados'' * 1969: ''

Juicio de faldas ''Juicio de faldas'' is a 1969 Spanish motion picture. The film was directed by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, and stars Manolo Escobar, Concha Velasco, José Sazatornil, and Gracita Morales. Plot Manolo is a trucker accused of having raped ...

'' as Marta * 1970: ''La decente'' as Nuria * 1970: ''Después de los nueve meses'' * 1970: ''En un lugar de La Manga'' * 1971: ''Me debes un muerto'' * 1971: ''Préstame quince días'' as Iris * 1972: ''No encontré rosas para mi madre'' * 1972: ''Venta por pisos'' * 1973: ''El amor empieza a medianoche'' * 1973: ''El Love Feroz o cuando los hijos juegan al amor'' * 1974: ''Tormento'' * 1974: ''Mi mujer es muy decente, dentro de lo que cabe'' as Margarita * 1975: ''Yo soy fulana de tal'' as Mapi Sánchez * 1975: '' Pim, pam, pum... ¡fuego!'' * 1975: ''Un lujo a su alcance'' * 1976: '' Long Vacations of 36'' as Mercedes * 1976: ''Libertad provisional'' * 1977: ''Esposa y amante'' * 1978: ''Jaque a la dama'' * 1979: ''Cinco tenedores'' * 1979: ''

Ernesto Ernesto, form of the name Ernest in several Romance languages, may refer to: * ''Ernesto'' (novel) (1953), an unfinished autobiographical novel by Umberto Saba, published posthumously in 1975 ** ''Ernesto'' (film), a 1979 Italian drama loosely ba ...

'' as Aunt Regina * 1982: '' La colmena'' as Purita * 1985: '' The Witching Hour'' as Pilar * 1989: ''

Esquilache ''Esquilache'' is a 1989 Spanish film directed by Josefina Molina. The film stars Fernando Fernán Gómez as Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Esquilache. It is based on the play " Un Soñador Para Un Pueblo" by Antonio Buero Vallejo. The film w ...

'' as Pastora Patermo * 1992: ''Yo me bajo en la próxima... ¿y usted?'' as Concha * 1996: '' Beyond the Garden'' as Palmira Gadea * 1996: ''Sombras y luces. Cien años de cine español'' * 1999: ''París-Tombuctú'' * 2000: ''

Km. 0 ''Km. 0'' is a 2000 film Spanish directed by Yolanda García Serrano and Juan Luis Iborra. The plot concerns about several intertwining stories of mistaken identity and coincidental meetings (that may not be coincidental) that take place near t ...

'' as Marga * 2001: ''Sólo yo sé tu nombre'' * 2002: ''El oro de Moscú'' as Pastora Bernal * 2006: ''

Welcome Home A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. In some context ...

'' * 2007: '' Boystown'' as Antonia * 2007: ''

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

'' as Nuria * 2009: ''Por la gracia de Luis'' * 2009: ''

Rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first-per ...

'' as Sra. Torres

Stage

Television

As herself

Awards and nominations

Honours

(Kingdom of Spain, 30 December 1987). * Gold Medal of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain (4 April 2003). * Gold

(Kingdom of Spain, 5 December 2008). * ESP_Alfonso_X_Order_GC

Dame Grand Cross of the

(Kingdom of Spain, 7 October 2016). * Valladolid Gold Medal ( City Council of Valladolid, 17 March 2018). * Madrid Gold Medal (

City Council of Madrid The City Council of Madrid ( es, Ayuntamiento de Madrid) is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Madrid, the capital and biggest city of Spain. The City Council is composed by three bodies; the Mayor who leads the City Council an ...

, 15 May 2018).

References

External links

*
Spanish page about Concha Velasco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco, Concha 1939 births Living people People from Valladolid Actresses from Castile and León Spanish television presenters Spanish women singers Spanish film actresses Spanish stage actresses Spanish Roman Catholics Recipients of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise Spanish women television presenters 20th-century Spanish actresses 21st-century Spanish actresses