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It has been learned that Rosario, Flamenco dancer who worked with Antonio for over 20 years, has died in Madrid on January 21, 2000, at the age of 82. She was born Florencia Perez Padilla in Sevilla in 1918. She began to study Flamenco dance with Juana la Macarona in 1928. She met Antonio in the "Academia de Realito". The academy sent them to the International Exposition in Brussels in 1928, where they were a great success. In 1931 they went to Madrid, where they became known as "Los Chavalillos Sevillanos"-"The Kids from Seville". In the next 3 years they toured Portugal and Andalucia. At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, they were working in Barcelona, and were sent to France to perform for the exiles. In France they met the empresario Marquesi, who took them to the New World. In 1937 they performed with Carmen Amaya in the Teatro Maravillas in Buenos Aires. When Carmen Amaya's troupe left Buenos Aires to continue their tour, then Rosario & Antonio headlined the bill. As their stay was very long in that theatre, that expanded their repertoire to include solos. They then toured Mexico, Cuba, and appeared at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. In 1942 they recorded a 3 record, six song, 78 RPM album Songs & Dances of Andalucia for Decca Records. As their fame grew it brought them to Hollywood, where they appeared in the the following films: Zigfield Girl, Sing Another Song, Hollywood Canteen & Panamerican. They returned to New York to appear at Carnegie Hall. They returned to tour in Mexico. In 1947 Rosario married Silverio Masciarelli, the pianist for the group. In 1949 they returned to Spain, where in the Teatro Fontalba, they were such a hit, they stayed over two months. Leaving that engagement they toured the most renowned theatres in the capitals of Europe. She created a series of dances to the coplas of the poet Garcia Lorca: Zorongo, Debajo de la hoja & En el Cafe de Chinitas. In 1952, in the Teatro Español in Madrid, she danced "El Puerto" from the Suite Iberia by Issac Albeniz. In the same year she made a film with Antonio, "Jose Maria, El Tempranillo". She played the part of Maria Jesus, the girlfriend of the bandit. The inevitable separation came when they made their last performance on December 21, 1952 in the Teatro Calderon in Madrid. After, she formed groups the didn't last long. She was a better dancer than a manager, maintaining discipline with so many dancers in the troupe. In 1953, she debuted at the Teatro Calderon in Barcelona, to the critics and audiences delight. She worked with Roberto Iglesias in "Recitales de Danzas de Espana" in Madrid and toured Europe, ending in Holland. In 1955 her company represented Baile Español in the International Festival in Granada, in the gardens of the Generalife. In 1958 her company appeared in the Spanish Pavilon at the Brussel's World's Fair. In 1960 she appeared on Italian television. In the next year she & her company worked without a break, touring Spain, the rest of Europe and North and South America. In 1962 she returned to Spain to work with Antonio in the Teatro de La Zarzuela. Her Zorongo was such a hit the audience demanded to hear and see it 3 times in a row. In 1963 she worked solo again, and reunited with Antonio in 1964-65 to tour all of Europe, Russia and North & South America. She left the troupe while in Chile. All this time, since the reunions with Antonio she was billed as an invited artist, not the equal she was from 1928-1952. In the 1970's she was an invited guest artist in "Ballet Alhambra". But her main ambition at this time was to teach in Madrid along side Gloria Libran y Victoria.
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