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{{Short description|Spanish artist (1938–2025)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = La Chunga
| image = Micaela Flores Amaya, "La Chunga".jpg
| caption = Picture of La Chunga
| birth_name = Micaela Flores Amaya
| birth_date = {{birth year|1938}}
| birth_place = [[Marseille]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
| death_date = {{death date and given age|2025|01|03|87|df=y}}
| death_place =
| occupation = flamenco dancer, naive artist
| years_active = 1944–2025
| spouse = José Luis Gonzalvo
| children = 1
| relatives = [[Carmen Amaya]] (maternal cousin)
}}

'''Micaela Flores Amaya''' (1938 – 3 January 2025), better known by the stage name '''La Chunga''', was a Spanish [[flamenco]] dancer, and painter of [[Naïve art|naïf art]].<ref>Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, Volume 1, ed. by Mary Zeiss Stange, Carol K. Oyster, and Jane E. Sloan, SAGE Publications (2013)</ref>

==Early life==
Micaela Flores Amaya was born in Marseille, France, in 1938, although the exact date of her birth remains unknown. Her parents were [[Andalusia]]n [[Romani people|Romanis]], who emigrated to France during the [[Spanish Civil War, 1938–39|Spanish Civil War]]. When she was less than a year old, her family moved to [[Barcelona]]. Additionally, she was the sister of flamenco dancer Lorenza "''La Chunguita''" Flores Amaya, and cousin of famed flamenco dancer [[Carmen Amaya]].

La Chunga started dancing when she was six years-old in the "Ca La Rosita", a well-known bodega for the Romanì community in [[El Poble-sec, Barcelona|El Poble-Sec]]. It was at this time she was discovered by painter Francisco "Paco" Rebés, during one of her improvised street performances. Rebés would later take her under his tutelage, and assume the role of her godfather.<ref name="La Academia">{{cite web|title=LA CHUNGA|url=http://www.academiadelasartesycienciasdelflamenco.es/es/la-chunga|website=BIOGRAFÍA DE LA BAILAORA DE FLAMENCO LA CHUNGA|publisher=La Academia de las Artes y ciencias del Flamenco|accessdate=25 March 2017|language=es}}</ref>

==Career==
La Chunga became the 'muse' of several writers, including [[Blas de Otero]], [[Rafael Alberti]], [[José Manuel Caballero Bonald]], and [[León Felipe]], as well as several painters, including [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Salvador Dalí]], and the aforementioned Francisco Rebés, who made her an attractive character for intellectuals and encouraged her to paint. A 1958 photo shows [[Salvador Dalí]] inviting her to make art by dancing on a blank canvas. During intervals, Dali would paint beneath her feet.<ref>The "Gypsy " Chronicles photo posted on Facebook, 6 October 2015</ref> She was known for her barefoot style of flamenco dance and described as "The Barefoot Dancer".<ref>Id.See also Encyclopedia of Women's History, Vol. 1, supra.</ref> She was admired by Picasso as a "shining naif".<ref>Id.</ref> She also exhibited in several galleries in Paris and Madrid. After then, Chunga participated in many tours and some films.

==Personal life and death==
La Chunga married director José Luis Gonzalvo, and they had a daughter, Pilar.

La Chunga died on 3 January 2025, at the age of 87.<ref>{{cite news |title=Muere La Chunga, la genial bailaora descalza, a los 87 años |url=https://www.elmundo.es/cultura/2025/01/03/67782e3721efa0bb708b457f.html |access-date=3 January 2025 |publisher=El Mundo |date=3 January 2025}}</ref>

==Filmography==
*''[[Tip on a Dead Jockey]]''<ref>{{Citation|last=Thorpe|first=Richard|title=Tip on a Dead Jockey|date=28 March 1958|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051088/|accessdate=5 March 2016}}</ref> (1957) directed by [[Richard Thorpe]]
*''Back to the Door''<ref name="auto">IMDb, La Chunga</ref> (1959) directed by [[José María Forqué]]
*''El último verano''<ref>{{Citation|last=Bosch|first=Juan|title=El último verano|date=19 April 1963|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055654/|accessdate=5 March 2016}}</ref> (1961) by Juan Bosch
*''Juan Pedro the Scyther'' (<ref name="auto"/> (1969) by José Luis Gonzalvo
* "Cierto reflejos: La Chunga"<ref name="auto"/> (1978) by Mario Gomez Martin
*''[[Vampire in Venice]]''<ref name="auto"/> (1988) by Augusto Caminito
*''Papa Piquillo''<ref name="auto"/> (1998) by Alvaro Saenz de Heredia

==Prizes==
* Medalla de Oro del Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid,
* Medalla Oro de la Asociación de la Prensa de Sevilla
* Trofeo Delfín de Alicante
* Premio del Ayuntamiento de Alicante
* Premio Cidale de los Almendros.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061212184031/http://www.tristeyazul.com/artflam/chunga01.htm Biografía]
* {{imdb name|0478457}}
* {{discogs artist|La Chunga}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chunga}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:2025 deaths]]
[[Category:Spanish Romani people]]
[[Category:Romani flamenco dancers]]
[[Category:Romani painters]]
[[Category:Spanish flamenco dancers]]
[[Category:Spanish female dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Spanish painters]]
[[Category:21st-century Spanish painters]]
[[Category:20th-century Spanish women artists]]
[[Category:21st-century Spanish women artists]]
[[Category:Romani people in art]]

La Chunga - Revision history

imported>Magnolia677: Undid revision 1283922599 by Exuperantia (talk) Removing unsourced content