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Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to Arash)
My first inspiration listening to flamenco guitar was Carlos Montoya, followed closely by Manitas de Plata. All this was around 1960, when I was 17. It was somewhat later that I discovered Sabicas, then and now my favorite.
Whatever one may think of Manitas as a flamenco guitarist, he seemed to enjoy a full and richly sensuous life. To be able to have lived such a life until the age of 93 is no small achievement. Godspeed, Manitas!
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Posts: 1812
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to El Kiko)
quote:
some liked him some didnt , but he kept flamenco on the radar at least
Yes, as with the Kingston Trio and the Clancy Brothers in Folk: whatever you say about them, without them thousands and thousands of people would never have discovered the music at all.
Posts: 2697
Joined: Jun. 7 2010
From: The South Ireland
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to Arash)
question ....
as i was watching the video in the first post here ... i couldn't help notice that not far into it he does a lot of picado using the first and third fingers , leaving the second out in the air ...
and the reason i noticed is because i do this a lot but try not too as it is probably a bad habit ...sometimes i cant help it though ..pr i use first and second and the third one just kikcs in by itself depending on what happens ...
i think because the middle finger is much longer and 1 and 3 are more even ...is this good or bad ... thoughts?/
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to El Kiko)
quote:
i think because the middle finger is much longer and 1 and 3 are more even ...is this good or bad ... thoughts?/
Many people use i-a picado instead of i-m. The reason is as you stated, since i & a are closer in length. It's not a bad habit, but you just need to get used to it. Other people say despite the length difference, the m finger is still stronger than the a finger & so you can get around the length difference with practice, but m will always be stronger & thus better for picado than a. Just different points of view...
You can see Habichuela Nieto do i-a picado as well as many others, and they go super fast & really well. If you practice, it works.
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to Paul Magnussen)
quote:
Yes, as with the Kingston Trio and the Clancy Brothers in Folk: whatever you say about them, without them thousands and thousands of people would never have discovered the music at all.
I would have like to have seen the KIngston Trio, but they were going strong about the time I was being born. I like some of their songs. I was in band that covered a couple of them in a unique kind of way.
So now that Manitas is gone it looks like that just added another year on Keith Richards' life.
Everytime a guitarist dies, Keef lives for another year, that is the he made with the devil.
Posts: 1812
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to BarkellWH)
quote:
Whatever one may think of Manitas as a flamenco guitarist, he seemed to enjoy a full and richly sensuous life.
No kidding:
‘De Plata had affairs with a string of women and was unable to say for certain how many children he had fathered. When asked in interviews, he settled on “dozens” ’
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to El Kiko)
quote:
i have an old vinyl record of him ... a lot of improvisational stuff on it ...
Me too.
I have what may be the earliest recording he made?. It's a 10 inch vynil documentary field recording made at La Fiesta de Sainte Marie de la Mer, back in 1958 I think?
None of the performers are identified on the sleeve n otes, But there are lots of calls in the background : "OLe Manitas de Plata"; Viva La Famiia Reyes", etc. etc. I found his playing overly aggressive, and somewhat lacking in finesse (being a longtime fan of Ramon de Montoya).
After watching a couple of the videos I'm curious to know how he played his tremolo? Is he using three fingers or only two? Anybody know for sure?
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to Paul Magnussen)
According to Le Monde, he has between 24 to 28 siblings, and he admitted officially to be the father of at least 13.
In 2013, he openly begged for financial help and social assistance from his 24m2 flat. When the journalist asked him about the paintings given to him by Dali and Picasso, he said he didn't know as they may have been lost or stolen. Yesterday was Manitas's burial, his lifelong friend Brigitte Bardot sent an sms to Manitas's sister to express her profund sadness and asserts that his virtuosity will forever be part of the world heritage. According to the mayor of Montpellier, Manitas has made a mark in world history and has further promised a statue in his honour.
Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to Paul Magnussen)
According to Manitas's obituary in the online Washington Post, Brigitte Bardot was quoted in an interview with Agence France Presse as saying, "“Manitas carried with him all the joie de vivre and carefree attitude of my youth.”
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Posts: 15722
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Manitas de Plata dies at 93 (in reply to Arash)
After all, a pretty interesting concert program. Guitar solos were kinda boring but I like the energy of the duet at 27:00. Nice guitars everybody used back then.
Insider gipsy info is that he had about 50 kids, most of which, illegit of course, quite proud of their heritage. (yes that means women were getting knocked up out of wedlock by him...it's crazy). Understand he was the patriarca of his clan.
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