Benito Rodríguez Rey, known professionally as Beni de Cádiz, was a Spanish flamenco singer. By age eleven, he was earning a living singing on trains between Cádiz and Jerez de la Frontera. He began his professional career as a dancer in the shows of Manolo Caracol and Lola Flores but switched to singing after Caracol heard him perform. Beni de Cádiz performed at prominent venues, including Madrid’s Corral de la Morería in 1957, the Pilar López ballet troupe, and later at clubs such as El Duende, Villa Romana, Las Brujas, and Torres Bermejas. He won multiple awards at flamenco festivals, notably receiving the honorary prize at the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco in Córdoba in 1971. Despite health struggles that caused a temporary hiatus, he returned to perform at major venues and festivals, including the III Bienal de Arte Flamenco in Seville in 1984. Beni de Cádiz passed away on December 22, 1992, in Seville. His legacy is honored with a plaque on his childhood home and a street named after him.
