Carmen Tórtola Valencia

She lived with her partner Ángeles Magret Vilá until her death in 1955. She generally performed barefoot, and is said to have been the inspiration for Rubén Darío's poem, La bailarina de los pies desnudos ("The Barefoot Dancer").

• Name — Carmen Tórtola Valencia • Born — 18 June 1882 • Birthplace — Seville, Spain • Died — 13 February 1955 • Place of death — Barcelona, Spain • Burial Place — Poblenou cemetery • Partner — Ángeles Magret Vilá (1928–1955) • Occupation — Dancer Painter

Carmen Tórtola Valencia was born on 18 June 1882 in Seville to a Catalan father Florenç Tórtola Ferrer (d. 1891) and Andalusian mother Georgina Valencia Valenzuela (d. 1894). Her family emigrated to London when she was three years old.

Tórtola Valencia made her debut as a dancer at the Gaiety Theatre, London in 1908. She dance at Berlin Wintergarten theatre and Folies Bergère in Paris later in the same year, and performed in Nuremberg and London in 1909. She made her debut in Spain at the Teatro Romea in Madrid in 1911. She later performed at Ateneo de Madrid in 1913. One of the people she trained was the Anglo-Indian dancer Olive Craddock ("Roshanara").

• Illustration — Tórtola Valencia (left) and her partner Ángeles Magret Vilá in Barcelona in 1946 Tórtola Valencia met Ángeles Magret Vilá for the first time in 1928 outside the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico city, while Tórtola Valencia was on a tour and Magret Vilá was traveling with her parents. In 1930, Tórtola Valencia became seriously ill and promised Magret Vilá that if she recovered, she would give up dancing. As per her promise, she gave her last dance performance in Quito later that same year. After Tórtola Valencia gave up her dancing career, both of them stayed away from public life and devoted themselves to art. Tórtola Valencia gave Magret Vilá an autograph album that she completed over the years. Tórtola Valencia was a pioneering feminist in the early 20th century. Being a homosexual and having leftist ideas, Tórtola Valencia was jailed during the Spanish Civil War. During the War, Tórtola Valencia and Magret Vilá took refuge in Magret Vilá's family home in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. After the war ended in 1939, they returned to their home in Major de Sarrià where they had lived earlier since 1932. Tórtola Valencia was also a member of Generación del 13, a painter collective. Magret Vilá managed the household while also serving as the secretary of Tórtola Valencia. Magret Vilá helped reconstruct Tórtola's public image after the Spanish Civil War and, as a practising Catholic, influenced Tórtola's conversion, which was necessary during the Francoist regime. In 1932, both had already drawn up wills in which each named the other as heir to their possessions in the event of death. Magret Vilá was fourteen years younger than Tórtola Valencia, and was adopted by Tórtola Valencia to silence rumors about their relationship in 1942, at a time when their way of life was subject to scrutiny under the Francoist regime. Following the adoption, Magret Vilá added "Tórtola" to her surname. Magret Vilá and Tórtola Valecia's remained together until Tórtola Valecia's death on 13 March 1955. She was later buried at Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona.