"La Violetera" is a 1914 cuplé song, with the rhythm of a habanera, composed by José Padilla and with lyrics by Eduardo Montesinos, originally performed by Carmen Flores and popularized by Raquel Meller first and by Sara Montiel later. The instrumental version is also popular as a tango. In Spanish, a Violetera is a woman who sells violets. History The song was composed in 1914 by José Padilla during his stay in Paris as director of the orchestra of the Casino de Paris music hall. The lyricist was Eduardo Montesinos. Its premiere took place in Barcelona with a performance by Carmen Flores. It was singer Raquel Meller who popularized the song in Spain and France first, and worldwide later. Sung in French by Dalida, it was released in 1956 in the first high quality release of the song on vinyl. It was included on her 1956 EP La violetera / Le torrent / Gitane / Fado that reached #10 on 1956 French charts and remained there for 14 weeks. It was included also on her first album Son nom est Dalida in 1957. The 1958 blockbuster musical film The Violet Seller, by Luis César Amadori, was inspired by the song. The version of "La Violetera" performed by Sara Montiel in the film, with arrangement by composer Gregorio García Segura and recorded by Hispavox, also became worldwide famous. The film soundtrack was released in different vinyl editions in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Greece, Israel, Japan, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and the United States. It received a Gold Record award for the number of records sold. The song is also in the repertoire of singers such as Montserrat Caballé, Gigliola Cinquetti, Nana Mouskouri, Connie Francis and Mieczysław Fogg. Other films using "La Violetera" in its soundtrack include City Lights (1931) by Charles Chaplin with himself and Virginia Cherrill; All Night Long (1981) by Jean-Claude Tramont with Barbra Streisand and Gene Hackman; Scent of a Woman (1992) by Martin Brest with Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell; In the Mood for Love (2000) by Wong Kar Wai, named "Lan Hua Nu", recorded in 1949 and sung by Rebecca Pan; and Rajee En Kanmani (1954), named "Malligai Poo Jathi Rojaa", mixed with "La Paloma" and sung by R. Balasaraswathi Devi. Plagiarism and adaptations In 1926 Anselmo Aieta wrote a tango to lyrics by Francisco García Jiménez, where the refrain is a