María Jiménez began her career in tablaos in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. He was performing in Los Gallos when the opportunity came to record an album. “It’s over” brought him fame and, his personal life, the covers of the pink press.
1 María Jiménez and her first tablao
María Jiménez was born in the Sevillian neighborhood of Triana. “A la aventura”, as she would tell in her memoirs, she went to live in Barcelona with only 15 years. She was hired at the Villa Rosa tablao in Barcelona, the one where Carmen Amaya started and where she emulated her beloved Marifé de Triana.
2 His first daughter, Rocío
He returned to Seville in 1967, where he would have an affair from which Rocío, his first daughter, would be born in 1968. Being a single mother at that time complicated things for her and she decided to try her luck in Madrid. Performing in El Duende, mythical tablao of Pastora Imperio, he began to stand out for that sensual style that would mark his career.
3 From Los Gallos in Seville
The producer Gonzalo García Pelayo noticed her when María was part of the flamenco painting of Los Gallos in Seville. He proposed to record an album and the singer did not hesitate for a moment. García Pelayo was filming the film “Manuela” at that time and offered a small role to the Sevillian. It was the first of several films for the singer.
4 His first album
Her first album (1976) would be named after her and there was a bit of everything. He sang rumbas, tangos, bulerías and rancheras. The great Paco Cepero was in charge of the arrangements. “Nights of Sad Lament,”a classic flamenco tango,It’s one of his best songs.
5 “It’s over”
The song that catapulted María Jiménez to fame and made famous the phrase “se acabó” was released in 1978. It showed a woman Empowered when this word was not in the popular vocabulary. Today, this flamenco song is a feminist anthem that is still as valid as the first day.
6 Wedding with Pepe Sancho
She married actor Pepe Sancho in 1980. From the marriage would be born their son Alexander. The relationship was a coming and going, ending in a complaint for mistreatment. María Jiménez would find many years later the María Jiménez Foundation to support battered women.
7 The hardest blow
The death of his daughter Rocío in January 1985 marked his life forever. He moved away from the stage for a while and went through a great depression. Succeeded again in 2001, thanks to a collaboration with La Cabra Mecánica and a single that was super-seller: “La lista de la compra”. María Jiménez returned to flamenco, but mixed with rock and pop, in a very catchy lyric: “You who are so beautiful and so smart…”
8 Goodbye to the stage
Joaquín Sabina or Miguel Poveda were some of the artists with whom María Jiménez worked in recent years. Affected by several health problems, she appeared in a wheelchair in 2020 at the Starlite Marbella festival where she performed with Pitingo. He said goodbye to the stage. In 2023, Her death has turned her, forever, into a myth.