Torremolinos honours the Gypsy Fred Astaire with tribute show

Torremolinos will pay tribute to flamenco dancer José Losada - El Carrete de Málaga - with a spectacular show at the municipal auditorium on Sunday 12 February.

The show, Torremolinos Celebrates Carrete de Malaga, will present some of the top names from the flamenco world, who will come together to honour the flamboyant dancer's extraordinary career, which has spanned 60 years.

Special guests will include fellow dancers El Junco, Pastora Galván, Luisa Chicano, and Rocío Molina, another of Malaga's top performers who has risen from the bars of the province to become a world-renowned figure within the flamenco world. These will be joined by established singers such as Antonio Campos, Delia Membrive, José Manuel Fernández, Fabiola Santiago, and David Palomar, a singer from Cadiz who first made his mark during the flamenco biennial in Seville in 1998.

The guitar accompaniment will be supplied by local guitarists Antonio Soto, Curro de María, Rubén Lara, Rubén Portillo, and Joaquín Losada, the son of El Carrete.

The show will be preceded by a preview of the documentary, Quixote in New York, an intimate portrait of the dancer that was filmed in different locations throughout the province, and in New York, where he performed on Broadway last year.

Also known as the Gypsy Fred Astaire, El Carrete began dancing at the age four, performing for tossed coins in the street in order to help his family survive. His fascination with dance began after watching Fred Astaire on the golden screen and this is still obvious in his dance routines today. His dance style is erratic to say the least, and he can make the most sombre flamenco styles come alive with his energetic, rattling footwork.

The veteran dancer is no stranger to the limelight. His life story has been the subject of a book, and he was also honoured with a tribute show, Señorialmente, which premiered in the Cervantes Theatre in Malaga in 2018.

Tickets for the show, which begins at 7pm, are free and are available from the town hall, or from the Picasso Cultural Centre and the Casa de Cultura.