MADRID -- Italian singer Raffaella Carrà, a 20th-century pop icon both at home and in many Spanish-speaking countries, has had a square in Spain's capital named in her honor one year after her death.
Madrid’s town hall held a ceremony Wednesday to inaugurate the square with a plaque bearing an illustrated portrait of the performer who died last July at age 78.
The town hall said it wanted to “pay homage to the Italian artist, who had strong links to Spain and its capital, where she pursued a good part of her professional career.”
Carrà won over legions of gay fans both in Italy and the Spanish-speaking world, and her new square coincides with the celebration of Madrid Pride week.
The plaque showed her from the shoulders up, highlighting her characteristic platinum blonde hair and short bangs.
Born in Bologna in 1943, Carrà started her diverse career as a singer, dancer, TV presenter and actress when still a child.
She became a staple of Italian television, but also conquered fans in Spain and Latin American in the mid-1970s. She recorded hits “Fiesta” and “Caliente, Caliente,” among others, in Spanish.
