Though she first gained notice for roles on screen in both cinema and television, Rosario Flores has earned recognition as a Latin Grammy-winning vocalist and composer whose supple, resonant alto glides across pop, rock, R&B, and nuevo flamenco without pause. Onstage she brings dramatic flair, kinetic presence, and instinctive phrasing that holds crowds spellbound, routinely filling venues worldwide. Since the mid-nineties she has ranked among Spain’s most visible public figures. Although her recordings appear under the shortened name Rosario, she is widely identified by her complete name, Rosario Flores. The 1995 release De Ley, composed entirely by her brother Antonio, marked her commercial arrival as a vocalist ten years after her first sessions; its singles “Mi Gato” and “Sabor Sabor” quickly entered the annals of Spanish popular music. Muchas Flores, issued in 2001 as an homage to Catalan rhumba, climbed numerous world-music tallies, signaled a return to her Romani heritage, and earned her the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Album the following year. Its 2003 successor, De Mil Colores, also received the award. The 2008 album Parte de Mí chronicled both a literal journey and a personal narrative, attaining platinum certification at home. Raskatriski, containing eleven original compositions, appeared in 2011; titled after an obscure Catalan rhumba, she described the project as her “gypsy funk” statement. Between 2017 and 2018 she served as coach on La Voz in Spain, judge on Idol in Colombia, and mentor on the children’s editions of La Voz in both Spain and Mexico, all while maintaining an active schedule of recording and live performance.
Born in Madrid on 4 November 1963 to musician Antonio González, known professionally as El Pescaílla, and to dancer, singer, and actress Lola Flores, she is the sibling of actress Lolita Flores and singer-songwriter Antonio Flores. She entered the profession in the mid- to late seventies under the name Rosario Rios, cutting ¿Que Querrá Decir Esto? for CBS in 1976 and appearing in the film Al Fin Solos, Pero… the next year. Those early efforts yielded little momentum, and her career remained dormant until 1984, when she performed in the Spanish television miniseries Proceso a Mariana Pineda and recorded the CBS album Vuela de Noche.
Acting engagements continued through the ensuing period, yet she did not issue another album until Sony Discos presented De Ley in 1992. Largely written by Antonio, the set achieved substantial success in Spain, generated the hits “Mi Gato” and “Sabor Sabor,” and prompted a follow-up. Siento, released in 1995, surpassed its predecessor in both domestic and international reach; its tracks “Estoy Aquí” and “La Estrella” registered on charts abroad, again with substantial contributions from Antonio. For Mucho por Vivir in 1996 Rosario assumed primary songwriting duties, assisted notably by co-producer Fernando Illán. Although commercial impact was more modest than Siento, the single “Yo Te Daré” found international audiences. Jugar a la Locura, arriving in 1999, again featured her own material and adopted the then-fashionable electronic production aesthetic, yet sales remained tepid, extending the gradual decline that had begun with the previous record.
For Muchas Flores in 2001 she therefore relinquished a measure of creative oversight to established figures, chief among them songwriter Jorge Drexler and producer Cachorro López. The resulting album drew praise from both reviewers and buyers, restoring her visibility and reopening opportunities in film. In 2002 she portrayed bullfighter Lydia González in Pedro Almodóvar’s Hable con Ella, a performance that coincided with the picture’s Golden Globe victory and Academy Award nomination. Subsequent studio releases on Sony—2004’s De Mil Colores and 2006’s Contigo Me Voy—again placed her in contention for the Latin Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album, Female; she prevailed in 2002 and 2004, and received a further nomination in 2006. Parte de Mí, her seventh album, appeared in 2008 as a salute to formative influences that included her mother, Lola Flores. Cuéntame followed in 2009, and Raskatriski arrived as her ninth studio effort in 2011. The next year she issued the charting single “Gipsy Funky Love Me Do,” a rhumba-styled collaboration with Tony Baez produced by Narada Michael Walden that reinterpreted the Beatles’ “Love Me Do.” Universal Spain simultaneously released the retrospective Las Voces de Rosario, a collection of notable duets. Rosario, issued in 2013, earned another Latin Grammy nomination in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. While touring and appearing on talent programs such as La Voz Kids occupied much of the mid-decade, she returned to the studio for 2016’s Gloria a Ti. The cover photograph showed her wearing one of her mother’s performance gowns, underscoring the project’s explicit flamenco lineage. In 2017 she issued the expansive live recording Noche de Gloria en El Teatro Real, a twenty-four-track set featuring guest appearances by India Martínez, Taburete, Nina Pastori, and Marta Sánchez, among others.
