RIP "La Polaca"

Spanish dancer and actress Josefa Cotillo Martínez, professionally known as “La Polaca” ("Polish"), died June 2nd in Seville, Andalucia, Spain at 65. According to family sources she was a victim of lung cancer. The dancer, who lived in the town Tomares Seville for the last five years with her husband, suffered from lung cancer that worsened in the last month and she died today.

Born June 16, 1944 in Madrid, "La Polaca” was a precocious artist and taught herself, and began to dance at just 10 years of age, after leaving her studies, she debuted at the age of 12 at Alcázar de Madrid Theatre. In the early '60s she joined the company of Jose Greco, with whom she toured America, where she began to emerge as a dancer. This tour was the first of many more to be carried out in other countries like the Soviet Union and the United States, which included an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and went on to dance before President John F. Kennedy.
In 1965 he fame gave her the chance to debut in the cinema with Mario Camus's film “With the East Wind”. This film was followed with among others "El amor brujo" (1967), Francisco Rovira Beleta, "Secretaries" (1969), Pedro Lazaga and "Of Love and Death" (1977) Antonio Giménez Rico. “La Polaca” appeared in one Euro-western 1966's “Rebels on the Loose”.

Throughout her career she was honored with several awards including the National Outstanding Performance for her work in "El amor brujo”.