Carmen Flores, the talented Spanish singer of Andalusian folk songs, was born in Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain, to Pedro Flores, a modest bar owner, and Rosario Ruiz, a seamstress. She was the youngest daughter of the family, which included her older siblings Lola, born in 1923, and Manolo, born in 1934.
In order to launch Lola's professional career, the family sold everything they had and migrated to Madrid in 1940. They struggled for a few years, but eventually Lola's talents won the day, and she became the breadwinner for the family. The family was dealt a tragic blow when Manolo died at age 15 due to peritonitis, but the tragedy served to unite them more in their resolve to survive.
Lola achieved great success on stage and began showing up in films. The powerful film producer Cesáreo González of Suevia Films sensed Lola's great potential as a movie star and signed her to an exclusive contract that included promotional tours of Latin America. By then, Carmen was also giving evidence of her own talents as a singer, and Lola became her enthusiastic mentor and benefactor, demanding that all her contracts for stage and films must include Carmen as well as traveling accommodations for her parents.
During a concert tour with Cesáreo González, Carmen Flores made her professional debut at the Esperanza Iris Theater in Mexico City with resounding success. From then on, Lola and Carmen became a united force that conquered audiences as well as critics everywhere they performed. In the early 1950s, Carmen, like her sister, became a recording act and continued performing in her sister's stage musicals and films.
However, in 1959, Carmen fell in love with star football player Isidro Sánchez and decided to get married and raise a family. The couple would eventually have four children, which kept Carmen quite busy during her retirement years.
