Celia Gámez
Who is Celia Gámez?
Celia Gámez, born in Buenos Aires on August 25, 1905, is one of the great figures of the Madrid stage, even though she was always regarded as artistically Spanish. She arrived in Spain in the mid-1920s and made her debut as a vice-tiple in the musical comedy “Corsarios,” after starting out in Argentina alongside composer José Padilla. She quickly became a genuine theatrical phenomenon: by the accounts of those who saw her perform, she was neither a great beauty, nor blessed with an exceptional voice, nor an accomplished dancer, yet her stage presence filled theatres.
Career
She was the great star of Spanish musical revue, consistently backed by maestro Francisco Alonso, alongside whom she reached the peak of her career: the premiere of “Las Leandras” in 1931. Her companies launched artists who would later become major stars, including Concha Velasco, Lina Morgan, Esperanza Roy and Tony Leblanc. She recorded and popularized tangos and coplas such as “A media luz,” “Una plegaria,” “Mamita” and “Confesión,” along with revue numbers like “Tabaco y cerillas,” “La estudiantina portuguesa” and “El águila de fuego.” She also appeared in film, including “Ráptame,” though her success on screen was far more limited than on stage.
In 1944 she married José Manuel Goenaga at the Basílica de los Jerónimos in Madrid, a wedding that became one of the most talked-about events in 1940s Spanish society.
Legacy
As musical revue declined in the 1960s, Celia Gámez gave her last major show while already in her sixties; although she returned to the stage sporadically afterward, her career as a leading star had effectively ended. Her final years, marked by financial difficulties, were spent back in Buenos Aires, where she died on December 10, 1992. She was buried in the La Chacarita cemetery, very close to the grave of Spanish singer Miguel de Molina.