Misplaced Pages

La Tortajada

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Spanish dancer and singer (1867-1957)
This article is an orphan, as no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; try the Find link tool for suggestions. (February 2024)
La Tortajada
La Tortajada, from a 1904 publicationLa Tortajada, from a 1904 publication
Background information
Birth nameConsuelo Tamayo Hernández
Born(1876-05-06)6 May 1876
Santa Fe, Granada, Spain
Died7 February 1957(1957-02-07) (aged 80)
Santa Fe, Granada, Spain
OccupationVaudeville performer
Musical artist

Consuelo Tamayo Hernández (6 May 1867—7 February 1957), known professionally as La Tortajada, was a Spanish dancer and singer in vaudeville.

Early life

Consuelo Tamayo by Tovar (1919)

Consuelo Tamayo was born in Santa Fe, Granada. She was educated at a convent, and trained to dance and sing there, and in Madrid. At age 14, Consuelo Tamayo married Ramón Tortajada, her music teacher and agent.

Career

La Tortajada toured internationally for more than twenty years, as a popular Spanish dancing and musical act on the vaudeville circuit. She is one of the Spanish dancers credited with introducing the fandango to North American audiences. "Of all the Spanish dancers America has ever seen," commented an American newspaper writer in 1902, "she is far and away the best."

Publicity surrounding La Tortajada focused on violence and passion, reinforcing stereotypes about the "fiery" Spanish temperament. In North America she was billed as "The Lady of the Duels", with publicity suggesting that she was fought over in duels throughout Europe. She had a physical confrontation with a rival over the design of a costume, in 1894.

Personal life

She retired from the stage after 1913 and returned to Granada to live in Santa Fe. She was reported to be living in seclusion with her husband and son in 1926. Ramón Tortajada died in 1928. Consuelo Tamayo died in 1957, aged 90 years. There is a street named for her (Calle Consuelo Tamayo la Tortajada) in Santa Fe, Granada.

References

  1. "Plays and Players" Navy & Army Illustrated (July 30, 1904): 575.
  2. "La Tortajada Typifies Andalusian Pantomime" Los Angeles Herald (November 17, 1910): 5. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  3. Kiko Mora, "Sounds of Spain in the Nineteenth Century USA: An Introduction" in K. Meira Goldberg, Antoni Pizà, eds., The Global Reach of the Fandango in Music, Song and Dance: Spaniards, Indians, Africans and Gypsies (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2017): 296. ISBN 9781443870610
  4. "Dancing Girl Who Caused More Duels than Any Other Woman in Spain is Here" Star Tribune (February 23, 1902): 37. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  5. "Magic in Her Feet; The Fiery Castillian Dancer Tortajada" Independence Daily Reporter (September 7, 1894): 4. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  6. "La Tortajada Tells Her Story" Los Angeles Herald (December 19, 1901): 14. via California Digital Newspaper Collection Open access icon
  7. "Disabled by her Rival; Senorita Tortajada Too Ill To Tell About Her Eden Musee Fight in Court" The Evening World (May 25, 1894): 3. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  8. "Spider Dancer Arrives" New York Times (October 22, 1913): 9. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  9. "Once Famous Dancer Living in Seclusion" Springfield Leader (December 3, 1926): 6. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  10. "Ramon Tortajada" New York Times (April 20, 1928): 17.
  11. Calle Consuelo Tamayo la Tortajada Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine, Callejero, Hispavista.com

External links

Categories: