La Malena
Full name
Place of birth
Biography
Magdalena Seda Loreto was born in Jerez de la Frontera in 1877 and died in Sevilla, in 1956 She was La Chorrúas niece, from who she learnt her first steps She was a dancer very like La Macarrona, as she had a very similar career, passing through 'cafés cantantes´ to end up with La Argentinita In 1911 she embarked on her first great journey to Russia with the Maestro Realito´s company In the forties she worked with Concha Piquer, and later headed a flamenco group for Sevilla´s Expositions social club called Malena y sus gitanas She even danced in the first festivals of the fifties, as demonstrated by a photograph showing her hugging Antonio Ruiz Soler However, despite her great success, El Bailarín had to contemplate how the artist ended her days selling sunflower seeds and sweets in a stand in Alameda de Hércules, submerged in poverty and obscurity
