Rocio Jurado

Known as La Más Grande, Spanish singer and actress Rocío Jurado took up flamenco performance during childhood and made her screen debut in 1962’s Los Guerrilleros alongside Manolo Escobar. Her first leading part arrived in the 1966 film Proceso a una Estrella, with a further starring turn in 1971’s Una Chica Casi Decente. While residing temporarily in Argentina, the Spanish diva appeared successfully in the musical La Zapatera Prodigiosa, drawn from Federico García Lorca’s text.

A collaboration with composer Manuel Alejandro soon elevated Jurado to major status throughout the Latin music scene, generating praise across the Americas and Spain for such hit singles as “Muera el Amor” and “Senora.” Following a 2004 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, she spent her remaining months receiving care in the U.S. and Spain. In that same interval numerous earlier albums received remastering treatment while collections including Rocío Siempre appeared in volume. Across her career the recordings earned roughly half a dozen platinum discs and around thirty gold discs. In the final weeks of her illness the Spanish government additionally conferred the Gold Medal for Merit in Work, citing her among the nation’s finest voices.