Gala Évora (born 8 February 1983) is a Spanish singer and actress who has recorded a number of hit songs and received two of her country's top acting nominations for her leading role portraying

Lola Flores María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (; 21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995) was a Spanish actress, (flamenco dancer) and singer. Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Flores became interested in the performing arts at a very young age. Known for her overwhe ...

in the 2007 film '' Lola, the Movie''.

Family tradition

A native of the southern

Andalucía Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

n town of

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar may refer to: * Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain * Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain * Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, forme ...

in Cádiz province, Gala Évora was born into an artistic family (the Sanlúcar Évoras) with a long tradition in the world of entertainment. Her father, José Miguel Évora, is a music producer, and the guitar artist

Manolo Sanlúcar Manolo Sanlúcar (born Manuel Muñoz Alcón, 24 November 1943 – 27 August 2022) was a Spanish flamenco composer and guitarist. He was considered one of the most important Spanish composers of recent times, and together with Paco de Lucía, ...

is her uncle. At the age of eight, she made her film debut, playing a small, unbilled role in ''El día que nací yo'', a 1991 vehicle for star Isabel Pantoja.

Performing career

She has performed as a member of the pop group Papá Levante and was a chorus member for headliner singers such as Carmen Linares, Enrique Morente,

Camarón de la Isla José Monje Cruz (5 December 1950 – 2 July 1992), better known by his stage name Camarón de la Isla, was a Spanish Romani flamenco singer. Considered one of the all-time greatest flamenco singers, he was noted for his collaborations with Pa ...

and Falete. At the end of 2000, her own debut album with the group, ''Tomalacaté'', with hit songs ''Me pongo colorada'' and ''Practicar sexo'' sold over a quarter of a million copies and was listed as a contender for the highest-grossing Spanish album of the year. In 2001, Papá Levante was awarded Premio Ondas as the best new Spanish music group and her performances in their 2003 album, ''Sopla levante'', with its two noted singles, "Comunicando" and "Gorda" also met with success, as did the 2005 album, ''Pa ti, pa mí'', with the hit first single, "Chiquilla". Her first solo album, ''Agua y luz'', includes six songs by Carlos Sanlúcar, and versions covered by

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village of Djolib ...

, Quique González, Lila Downs and Luis Pastor. The album begins with "Al otro lado del mundo" and includes "Tengo un amor", "Sabré que eres tú" and "Agua de rosas", composed for Lila Downs' Mexican album, while "Quiero volar" is a blend of

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

rhythms. In 2007, Gala Évora was cast in the title role of Miguel Hermoso's film, ''Lola'', a biographical portrait of Spain's famed Romani singer, dancer and actress

,Gala Évora as Lola Flores in a ''youtube'' clip
/ref> which gained her a

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

, Spain's equivalent of the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

, nomination as Mejor Actriz Revelación est New Actressand a Spanish Cinema Writers Circle Awards nomination as Premio Revelación est New Artist The film has played at a number of European venues and was chosen as the opening entry at the

Málaga Film Festival The Málaga Festival, formerly Málaga Spanish Film Festival (FMCE), is an annual film festival held in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. The festival was established to promote Spanish cinema and help disseminate information about Spanish films. Since ...

. The following year she was chosen for a role in Pilar Távora's film adaptation of Santiago Escalante's play ''Madre amadísima''.

Discography as Papá Levante member

*''Tomalacaté'', 2000 *''Sopla Levante'', 2003 *''Pa Ti Pa Mí'', 2005

Filmography

*''El día que nací yo'', 1991 *''Lola'', 2007 *''Madre Amadísima'', 2010

References

Notes

Sources

*Rolfe, Pamela. "Orphanage 'Roses' lead Goya noms". ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (18 December 2007)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evora, Gala 1983 births Living people Spanish actresses People from Sanlúcar de Barrameda 21st-century Spanish singers 21st-century Spanish women singers 21st-century Spanish actresses