12 Facts About Rafael Aguilar

Rafael Aguilar's father, Alfredo Franco Ricaurte, was born in Bogota, who immigrated to Guayaquil to work at the Commercial and Agricultural Bank.

Rafael Aguilar was educated first at Colegio San Jose La Salle, where he picked up languages easily and excelled in French.

Rafael Aguilar worked various jobs, working for a restaurant and messaging service, while enjoying the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Manhattan.

Rafael Aguilar attended the opera frequently and learned to speak some Italian and Arabic from his neighbors, and considered becoming a diplomat.

Rafael Aguilar worked with greats including Leonide Massine and John Taras, and decided his future lay in the world of dance.

In Paris in 1951, he met Spanish dancer Manuela Rafael Aguilar, who owned a small flamenco company.

Rafael Aguilar joined her company and began his choreography career, creating avant-garde dances that brought new life to flamenco.

Rafael Aguilar's wife devoted herself to studying gypsy culture and integrated many gypsy dances into their choreography as well.

In July 1994, Rafael Aguilar began suffering severe headaches while touring Germany, and he was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Rafael Aguilar underwent six weeks of radiation treatment at the Hospital of Madrid, where defective equipment burned the skin on his skull.

Rafael Aguilar then went to the hospital of the Red Cross, where he improved after a course of chemotherapy.

Rafael Aguilar was still weak but returned to work in time for the opening night of his production of Bolero in Madrid on 3 March 1995, when he suffered a heart attack and died.