Marisol
Marisol in 1962
Born	Josefa Flores González (1948-02-04)4 February 1948 (age 77) Málaga, Spain
Other names	Pepa Flores
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Spouses	Carlos Goyanes ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1975)​ Antonio Gades ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1986)​
Children	3, includingMaría andCelia [es]
Parents	Juan Flores (father) María González (mother)

Josefa Flores González (born 4 February 1948), known professionally asMarisol orPepa Flores, is a retired Spanish singer and actress who was an evolving icon in Spain since her first appearance in 1960 as a child star until her retreat from the spotlight in 1985.^[1]

Marisol was born Josefa Flores González on 4 February 1948 inMálaga,Andalusia, Spain. From early childhood, she demonstrated a love of singing andflamenco dance, passed down to her by her grandmother Victoria. The girl entered a choir and dance group namedLos joselitos del cante belonging to theSección Femenina's national organizationCoros y Danzas [es].^[2]

In 1959, she was discovered by film producer Manuel Goyanes. One of her first televised performances withLos joselitos del cante was seen by his daughter Mari Carmen Goyanes, and she convinced her father that the girl she had seen on television was the actress and singer they needed. The producer convinced Pepa Flores's parents, and she ultimately signed an exclusive contract with him.

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The career of Marisol, her artistic name, had just begun. She received dance, acting, and declamation classes taught by the best teachers, with the idea of making her the star of children's and youth cinema.

For her first film,A Ray of Light (directed byLuis Lucia, 1960), a huge merchandising campaign was organized around the new star, with books, dolls, cards, and all kinds of objects with the girl's image. Each film premiere included a tour of Spain and Hispanic countries to promote it, with all kinds of events creating tumults and crowds at the airports. Televisions, interviews, and hundreds of photo shoots, in addition to the film shootings, prevented her from having a childhood like that of any other girl. Columbia Pictures wanted to buy the rights to Manuel Goyanes to continue exploiting her artistic career, but the producer rejected the proposal.^[3] Luis Lucia propelled her to national stardom in her two following filmsAn Angel Has Arrived (1961) andTómbola (1962).

She was extremely popular in Spain and Latin America.

She also established herself as a singer thanks to the songs she performed in her films. Some of her best-known songs from her first three films were "Tómbola [es]", "Corre, corre caballito [es]", "Bambina", "Ola, ola, ola [es]", "Estando contigo", "Chiquitina", and "Nueva melodía".

In 1963 she starred inMarisol rumbo a Río, where she played twins (similar toHayley Mills inThe Parent Trap) and sang "Bossanova junto a ti", "Muchachita", "¡Oh, Tony!", and "Guajiras". Marisol co-starred withRobert Conrad the 1964 filmLa nueva Cenicienta, in which she sang "Me conformo".Mel Ferrer directed her inCabriola in 1965, where she sang "Cabriola", "¡Ay, vagabundo!", "Ya no me importas nada", and "Sevillanas". She appeared in the 1964 filmBúsqueme a esa chica withDúo Dinámico. The film had biographical elements, featuring Marisol singing "Mi pequeña estrella", "Typical Spanish", and "Solo a ti". She appeared in the 1964 filmLa historia de Bienvenido, a story about a donkey.

In 1967, Marisol starred in the comedyLas cuatro bodas de Marisol, as the daughter of actressIsabel Garcés, and sang "La Boda", "Johnny", "Belen, Belen" (featuringPeret), and "La Tarara" (inspired by aGarcía Lorca poem). She appeared inSolos los dos (1968), where she sang "La nieve" (her most popular song in South America, composed byJuan Pardo andRocío Dúrcal's husband,Júnior). In 1969, she appeared in the unsuccessfulCarola de día, Carola de noche and in the musical comedyEl taxi de los conflictos, where she sang "Corazón contento [es]", a song composed byPalito Ortega.

Marisol received the Best Actress Award at theKarlovy Vary International Film Festival for her role inLos días del pasado (1978). She also appeared inThe Corruption of Chris Miller (1973), directed byJuan Antonio Bardem;The Girl from the Red Cabaret (1973) withMel Ferrer, andEl poder del deseo (1975) withPilar Bardem.

As an adult, Marisol changed her stage name to her given name, Pepa Flores and appeared inCarlos Saura'sBlood Wedding (based on García Lorca's play), and inCarmen (1983). She played the title role ofMariana Pineda in theTelevisión Española (TVE) seriesProceso a Mariana Pineda in 1984, and was applauded for her lead role in the 1985'sCaso cerrado, one of the first films featuringAntonio Banderas.

Pablo Mérida and Paloma Blanco Aristín in their bookEl cine español credit Saura with succeeding to bring Marisol out of retirement/seclusion to star inBlood Wedding andCarmen.^[4] Then,Caso cerrado was advertised as her comeback feature, but after its failure she had to play "cat-and-mouse" with the media inDonostia where she stayed for three days.^[5] According to some, it was the movie's flop that led to her definitive retirement.^[6]

On 16 May 1969, Marisol married Carlos Goyanes Perojo, son of her producer. They separated in 1972.^[7][8]

In 1973, she started a relationship with dancerAntonio Gades, and she has three daughters with him.María Esteve, the eldest, is an actress, andCelia Flores [es], the youngest, is a pop flamenco singer. After her divorce from Perojo, Flores and Gades married in 1982 inCuba and their godparents wereFidel Castro andAlicia Alonso. They divorced on 1986,^[9] and Gades died in 2004. She was a sympathizer (but not a member) of theSpanish Communist Party, distancing herself from the party after her separation from Gades.

Pepa Flores is retired and lives with Massimo Stecchini, her partner since 1987, in Malaga, where she works for charitable causes.

In the wake of theMe Too movement, the claims Marisol made toFrancisco Umbral andInterviú in the late 1970s about the sexual abuse she underwent as a child star resurfaced in SpanishVanity Fair in 2018.^[10]

• 1960 – Prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle, Spain(Sindicato Nacional del Espectáculo): ″Special Mention″ for her performance inA Ray of Light.^[11]
• 1972 – 3rd positionOTI Festival prize for her song "Niña".
• 1978 – Best Actress Award at theKarlovy Vary International Film Festival for the filmLos días del pasado directed byMario Camus.
• 2020 –Honorary Goya Award^[12]

Citations

Bibliography

• Rincón, Aintzane (2019)."Marisol y Pepa Flores. Los significados políticos de una estrella (1960-1985)".Cuadernos de Historia Contemporánea.41. Madrid:Ediciones Complutense:355–375.doi:10.5209/chco.66120.ISSN 0214-400X.

• (in Spanish)Marisol-Pepa Flores, la estrella malagueña de España
• (in Spanish)Pepa Flores enterró a Marisol.

• 1948 births
• Living people
• Musicians from Málaga
• Actresses from Málaga
• Spanish film actresses
• Spanish child actresses
• Spanish child singers
• Spanish television actresses
• 20th-century Spanish actresses
• 20th-century Spanish singers
• 20th-century Spanish women singers

• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from August 2022
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