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Dolores Jiménez Alcántara (b. La Puebla de Cazalla, Seville, 28 July 1909 – 14 June 1999), better known as La Niña de la Puebla (Spanish: "The girl from La Puebla") was one of the greatest flamenco and Andalusian copla singers,
Jimenez was born the daughter of a barber. An eye infection at a young age resulted in blindness. At age 8 she moved with her family to Madrid and began music lessons and studied flamenco. She warmed gradually to flamenco, received her first contract at 14 and gained a following after a successful performance at a festival in Moron de la Frontera, southeast of Seville, at 20, in 1931. Onstage, Ms. Jimenez wore dark glasses and typically performed while standing, supporting herself with one hand placed on the back of a chair. She spent decades fashioning other songs in a style that flamenco experts often describe as dulce, or sweet. Jimenez was comfortable performing much of the flamenco repertory and its multiple palos, weaving together haunting melodies, staccato laments, and picturesque lyricism. She performed publicly until the late 80's under the stage name La Niña de la Puebla, and was best known for her rendition of the 'Los Campanilleros' (The Bell Ringers'), a popular Spanish ballad about children's folkloric choirs.
In 1934 she married a fellow singer, Lucas Soto Martin, known professionally as Luquitas de Marchena. They had five children together, two of whom, Adelfa and Pepe, became professional flamenco performers. After her husband's death in 1965, Jimenez lived in Malaga, where she died of a brain hemorrhage on June 14, 1999.
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