Antonia García de Videgain

The youngers ages

Antonia García was born in the working-class district of Cádiz (Spain), the oldest of a family of three children, including Micaela García. She has always wanted a career as an actress, a fact that remained a secret for a short time. Meanwhile, at school recess, the future artist had her first audience with her classmates, who asked her to sing. Later, her presence in the school as a singer became common. Although their parents supported their talent, they did not want it to become their only career. She began his artistic career participating in several songs of benefit festivals, being supported in secret by his paternal uncle, who always believed in his talent and was his first admirer. At age 15, with the resignation and approval of his parents, she participated in a zarzuela company. She then sang some traditional songs. The decision of his parents was decisive for his future, since he was the one who wanted to throw her into stardom. Since she was already dancing and acting. All this happened, ensuring that Antonia did not lose her personality in the future, which delighted the employer. At the same time, José puts her in contact at various social events with the famous artists of her time, and even some beginners in the art even as Ruperto Chapí and the late and contemporary, Gerónimo Giménez, famous of the time who became a good friend.

The Lucerito of Andalucía and successes

Her name would be inappropriate to throw her into stardom, but she was a young fighter and a lucky winner. Her powerful voice helped her from the beginning, in those years there were no microphones being a pioneer of lyrical art, unfortunately the music industry did not exist yet and only in her last years left some small memories in recordings of the roll. But it was fast when her name was born as Antonia García, in the 1860s, and she made her way into posterity. Her strength of name is due to her work and the songs sung by her that appear in both the Spanish and Latin American press that ended up meddling on more than one occasion with bad criticism of the worse-conditioned actresses who became envious in his time.

The critics that made it be in many occasions the saviors of the works to release it made a place in the profession, being very appreciated by the public. In 1894 in Buenos Aires she managed to play her role as Doña Rita in La Verbena de la Paloma, something worth seeing and that was the case for months.

Later, she was declared an adopted daughter of this town, of Cuba and other cities, and was named a street in her honor. Everything since he was offered a role in a zarzuela at the age of 12 until his retirement took more than half a century. After acting in several companies of zarzuela, he married very young with the singer and actor from Malaga Salvador Videgain Gómez, with whom he would have two children, he retired in 1908 from the theater industry and in 1914 as a result of the misfortune of the fire of the Teatro Arriaga of Bilbao, made the decision to re-launch shortly his career as a singer in festivals and some works sporadically.

Death

The actress suffers from diabetes since the late 1880s. This cause appears in the press as the cause of the cancellation of some function by disease in those years. In 1918 Antonia García was diagnosed with severe diabetes; she died in her house in Madrid on June 25, 1924, and her remains are in the Cementerio de la Almudena in Madrid in the same block as many other famous artists she met, of her time.

His style has influenced many female tango singers in Argentina, as well as many famous Spanish flamenco singers, being a pioneer in international travel, having toured Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay ... For his work as a recording artist , García entered the Paseo de las Luminarias in the city of Cuba.

His death appeared in several newspapers of his time, as well as his son Salvador Videgain was the famous actor, director and singer.