Antonio Esteve Ródenas or Antonio Gades (14 November 1936 – 20 July 2004) was a Spanish

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

dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. He helped to popularise the art form on the international stage. He was born in

Elda Elda is a city and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a conurbat ...

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, and was the father of actress

María Esteve María Esteve Flores (born 30 December 1974) is a Spanish actress. Biography Esteve was born on 30 December 1974 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. She is the eldest daughter of actress Pepa Flores and dancer Antonio Gades. Her sister is the singe ...

and singer Celia Flores, his daughters with his ex-partner Marisol, herself a popular actress and singer.

Career

Flamenco

Gades's most notable works included dance adaptations of

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' and

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

's ''

Blood Wedding ''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...

'' (''Bodas de Sangre''), as well as a feature-length adaptation of

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...

's 23-minute ballet ''

El amor brujo ''El amor brujo'' (, "The sorcerer love") is a ballet by Manuel de Falla to a libretto by María de la O Lejárraga García, although for years it was attributed to her husband Gregorio Martínez Sierra. It exists in three versions as well as a p ...

''. In the 1990s, he toured the world with his show ''Fuenteovejuna'', based on

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio ( , ; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Age of Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literature ...

's play of the same name.

Film

Gades collaborated with the Spanish director

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (born 4 January 1932) is a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. Along with Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers. He has a long and prolific career th ...

in the filming of the adaptations of ''Carmen'' and ''Blood Wedding'', which also featured

Cristina Hoyos Cristina Hoyos Panadero (born 13 June 1946) is a Spanish flamenco dancer, choreographer and actress, born in Seville, Spain. After a successful worldwide career, she opened her own dance company in 1988 that premiered at the Rex Theatre in Paris ...

Ballet

Gades co-founded and became the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the Spanish National Ballet (Ballet Nacional de España) in 1978.

Personal life and death

Gades was prominent as a political activist in

, where he proclaimed

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

for the

Catalan nation The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La Franja'') and Murcia ( ...

during the

Spanish Transition 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, Cana ...

between the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a member of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de los Pueblos de España) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party in Spain. PCPE was founded out of the unification of several Marxist-Leninist factions. The youth organization is c ...

, a

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

organization. In 1987 he was a member of the jury at the

15th Moscow International Film Festival The 15th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 6 to 17 July 1987. The Golden Prize was awarded to the Italian film ''Intervista'' directed by Federico Fellini. Jury * Robert De Niro (United States – President of the Jury) * Tengiz ...

. He was married to the Spanish actress and singer Marisol for 4 years; they had three daughters. He died in

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), and ...

from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Awards

About six weeks before his death, Gades received the "

Order of José Martí The Order José Martí (Orden José Martí) is a state honor in Cuba. The Order was named so after José Martí, the national hero of Cuba. The design was realized by the Cuban sculptor José Delarra. Notable recipients * Alexander Lukashenko, ...

", one of the highest honors of Cuba, from

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

, in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 2004 his ashes were interred at the Mausoleum of the Frank País Second Eastern Front, a memorial cemetery in Santiago de Cuba.

Filmography

*''

Los Tarantos ''Los Tarantos'' is a 1963 Spanish musical drama film directed by Francisco Rovira Beleta. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category. The film is based on the play ''La historia de los Tarantos'' written by Alfredo ...

'' 1963 *'' The Pleasure Seekers'' 1964 *''

With the East Wind ''With the East Wind'' ( es, Con el viento solano) is a 1966 Spanish drama film directed by Mario Camus. It was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Antonio Gades as Sebastián * Vicente Escudero as Montoya * María José Alfonso ...

'' 1966 *''

'' 1967 *'' The Last Meeting'' 1967 *''

Bodas de sangre ''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...

'' 1981 *''

'' 1983 *''

'' 1986 *''

Fuenteovejuna ''Fuenteovejuna'' () is a play by the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega. First published in Madrid in 1619, as part of ''Docena Parte de las Comedias de Lope de Vega Carpio'' (''Volume 12 of the Collected plays of Lope de Vega Carpio''),Edwards, ...

'' 2012

References

External links

* Ermanna Carmen Mandelli, ''Antonio Gades''. Palermo, L'Epos, 2004.
Cuban Government's webpage on Gades

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gades, Antonio 1936 births 2004 deaths People from Elda Flamenco dancers Spanish male dancers Deaths from cancer in Spain