Raquel Daina

Raquel Daina
Raquel Daina
Born	June 27, 1928; Madrid, Spain
Died	May 5, 2018 (aged 89); Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Actress, vedette, theatrical entrepreneur, model;

Raquel Daina Delas (27 June 1928 – 5 May 2018) was a Spanish comedy actress and zarzuela performer during the first and second half of the 20th century in Spain and America. She was also a theatrical entrepreneur, vedette, actress and model.

Biography[]

Daina was born in Madrid, Spain, of Valencian and Aragonese descent. She came from a family of artists. Her father, Pedro Daina, was a stage actor while her mother, Delas, was a supporting comedy actress and a zarzuela singer. She had two aunts who were also actresses, Natalia and Carmen, and her sister was the well-known actress Irene Daina. She was the cousin of Queta Claver, an actress, singer, dancer and vedette performer.

Daina debuted in Salvador Videgain García's company during the Spanish Civil War. The company performed at the Pavón Theater in Madrid and went on to perform at the Ideal Theater. The company specialized in reprises of zarzuelas as well as premiered new zarzuelas. Later in her career, she appeared in films, such as Juana la Loca (1983).

Career[]

Her beginning in the company of the Pavón and the Ideal Theater of Madrid during the contest made her a versatile actress and one with great qualities, as can be observed in this stage of zarzuela, recovering such titles as The one with the bunch of roses, Seraph the painter, The carnations and The tempranica. In addition, her movement to magazines is done under the direction of Salvador Videgain, at the premiere of Bartolo's flute by Enrique Povedano, 1939 in the Maravillas Theater in Madrid. She debuted in the Salvador Videgain company in 1936, then took part in children's roles, first with Zarzuela. Unknowingly, because at the time of her first performance, art was confusing to act in some roles as a substitute for eventualities of the actress with repertoire works such as The Fist of Roses, Giants and Bigheads, The White House, The Feast of San Anton, The Barber of Seville, Bohemians, El santo de la Isidra. After the death of his father in 1947, she continued to support her mother and sister with her professional work, traveled to many provinces such as Murcia, Las Palmas, Córdoba, Almeria, Barcelona, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Burgos Valencia, and Alicante. In 1944 she was widely recognized in Spain thanks to the Videgain de zarzuela company on the Salamanca, Briviesca, Valladolid tour.

Between 1945 and 1946, she was acting in the Zarzuela Theater in Antonio Paso Díaz' company in works such as The man who drives them crazy, Taboo!, An impossible woman, Looking for a millionaire (musical by Daniel Montorio) and The Mendo's last days. In 1947, she took part in History of two women by José Muñoz Román at Martín theater, along with the comedians Rafael Cervera and Lepe.

The end of her career[]

She became a businesswoman in the fifties, owning her own variety show company, although, she was still accepting offers, such as vedette or first actress, from other companies. Most of her company's shows were produced in Barcelona, a city she loved very much, and where she lived.

Her career as a vedette declined with age. She was always remembered for her performances at the Parallel theaters such as Apollo Theater and Victoria Theater of Barcelona. She died in Madrid.

Discography[]

She recorded several albums in the world of variety shows and musical comedy, which were owned by Blue Moon Records or remastered to CD by Sonifolk.

Me llaman la presumida (They call me presumptuos) -Blue Moon lyric series.
Robame esta noche (Steal me tonight) -Blue Moon lyric series.
Doña Mariquita de mi corazón (Mrs. Ladybug of my heart) - Sonifolk.
Historia de dos mujeres (Story of Two Women) -Sonifolk.

References[]

The real-life and history of the theater (2005) Juan José Videgain ISBN 84-7828-135-5.
Dictionary of Spain and Spanish zarzuela MªLuz González and others (2002) ICCMU Vol I and II. ISBN 84-89457-23-9, His biography.
Dictionary theater akal (1997) Manuel Gómez García ISBN 84-460-0827-0.
Ramon Femenía magazine (1997) ISBN 84-86217-89-X, The greatest successes who got in the magazine.
A century of Spanish cinema Ed.planeta Luis Gasca (1998) ISBN 84-08-02309-8 characters did in the films of that decades, see titles of the films.
Teatralerias, tres siglos de sagas de la escena (2018), Madrid: P& V ISBN 978-1-7248-7228-9

Newspaper[]

La vanguardia Barcelona, (1937-1997).
El norte de Castilla Valladolid, (1940-1997).
ABC Madrid y Sevilla, (1937-1997).
El adelanto de Salamanca Salamanca, (1940-1997).
Ideal de Granada Granada, (1940-1998).
El correo vasco Bilbao, (1940-1997).
El heraldo de Aragón Zaragoza,(1940-1997).
El faro de Vigo Vigo, (1940-1997).
El Noroeste Oviedo, (1941-1997).
La prensa Barcelona, (1945-1997).
El Alcazar Madrid, (1940-1977).
Diario Madrid Madrid, (1939-1977).
Digame Madrid, (1940-1976).
Pueblo Madrid, (1939-1977).
Las provincias Valencia, (1940-1997).