Pastora Imperio

Pastora Imperio is the artistic name of Pastora Rojas Monje (April 13, 1887 in Seville – September 14, 1979 in Madrid), a dancer from Seville and one of the most representative figures of flamenco folklore of all times. She was the great-grandmother of the Spanish actress Pastora Vega. She was the daughter of Cádiz dancer Rosario Monje, "La Mejorana" (Spanish: the marjoram), and of Víctor Rojas, a tailor to bullfighters. Her brother, also called Víctor Rojas, who was a guitarist. At the age of ten, she began her artistic career and two years later she was known as Pastora Monje. Later she would be known as Pastora Rojas and finally as Pastora Imperio because she and Margarita la Retoña formed the musical duo "Hermanas Imperio.". Pastora Imperio stood out as one of the best artists of the time because of her repertoire.Thanks to her personality, she was highly popular; she also earned the admiration of the intellectual and artistic world of the time. She became a muse for painters, poets and other artists, such as Julio Romero de Torres, who painted her portrait, or Mariano Benlliure, who was inspired by her figure to create one of his sculptures. Literary figures such as Ramón Díaz Mirete, Ramón Pérez de Ayala, Tomás Borrás and the Álvarez Quintero brothers, wrote about her. All of them highlighted her qualities and praised her as a great artist. She received many awards for her artistic career, among them the Lazo de Dama de la Orden de Isabel la Católica and the first gold medal of the Segunda Semana de Estudios Flamencos, celebrated in Málaga in 1964. She was also a friend of Queen Victoria Eugenia and had a signed photo of Alfonso XIII.