Quick Facts
Biography
Micaela Flores Amaya, La Chunga (The Difficult Woman), (Marseille, 1938) is a Spanish flamenco dancer and painter of naïf art.
Born in Marseille in 1938, the exact date of her birth remains unknown. Her parents were Andalusian Romani who emigrated to France during the Spanish Civil War. When she was less than a year old Micaela's family moved to Barcelona.
She started dancing when she was six years-old in "Ca La Rosita", a well-known bodega for the gypsy community in El Poble-Sec. She became the muse of several writers like Blas de Otero, Rafael Alberti, José Manuel Caballero Bonald and León Felipe, and several painters, like Picasso, Dalí and Francisco Rebés who made her an attractive character for intellectuals and encouraged her to paint. A 1958 photo shows Salvador Dalí inviting her to make art by dancing on a blank canvas. During intervals, Dali would paint beneath her feet. She was known for her barefoot style of flamenco dance and described as "The Barefoot Dancer". She was admired by Picasso as a "shining naif". She also exhibited in several galleries of Paris, Madrid, etc.
Pastora Imperio contracted her in 1956 and thanks to Ava Gardner, she took part in two Hollywood movies. The businessman Sullivan introduced her in Las Vegas and she participated in various TV programs in the U.S. and Mexico.
Since then, she has participated in many tours and some movies. She married the cinema director José Luis Gonzalvo and they had a daughter, Pilar.
Filmography
- Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957) directed by Richard Thorpe
- Back to the Door(1959) directed by José María Forqué
- El último verano(1961) by Juan Bosch
- Juan Pedro the Scyther ( (1969) by José Luis Gonzalvo
- "Cierto reflejos: La Chunga"(1978) by Mario Gomez Martin
- Vampire in Venice(1988) by Augusto Caminito
- Papa Piquillo(1998) by Alvaro Saenz de Heredia
- Thorpe, Richard (1958-03-28), Tip on a Dead Jockey, retrieved 2016-03-05
- IMBd, La Chunga
- Bosch, Juan (1963-04-19), El último verano, retrieved 2016-03-05
- IMBd, La Chunga
- IMBd, La Chunga
- IMDb, La Chunga
- IMBd, La Chunga
Prizes
- Medalla de Oro del Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid,
- Medalla Oro de la Asociación de la Prensa de Sevilla
- Trofeo Delfín de Alicante
- Premio del Ayuntamiento de Alicante
- Premio Cidale de los Almendros.