Ricardo Baliardo (7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014), better known as Manitas de Plata ("little hands of silver"), was a Spanish[1]flamenco guitarist of Catalan Gitano descent, born in southern France.[2] Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was criticized for not following certain rhythmic rules (compás) that are traditional in flamenco.[3]
Baliardo was born in a gypsy caravan in Sète, southern France.[2]
Nicknamed Manitas de Plata ("little hands of silver" in Spanish), he agreed to play in public only ten years after the death of Romani-Belgian jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt, in 1953.[4]
Baliardo attained fame in the United States after a photography exhibition in New York, organized by his friend Lucien Clergue. He had recorded his first official album in the chapel of Arles in France in 1963, on the Philips label. It was later re-released in 1967, on the Connoisseur Society label and sold through the Book of the Month Club.[5] This record brought him to the attention of an American audience, where a manager obtained a booking for him to play a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York on 24 November 1965,[6] and on The Ed Sullivan Show the same year. He went on to perform in various venues around the world.[4][7]
Manitas de Plata was the uncle of Diego, Paco, and Tonino Baliardo, and cousin to Pablo, François (Canut), Patchaï, Nicolas, and André Reyes (the sons of his cousin, flamenco artist José Reyes, with whom he performed as a duo in the 1970s), all current or former members of the Catalan rumba band Gipsy Kings.
Statue of Manitas de Plata in front of Montpellier City Hall
De Plata died on 6 November 2014, aged 93, in a retirement home in Montpellier. He had suffered a severe heart attack in April 2013.[8]
Acclaim and legacyedit
One of his recordings earned him a letter from Jean Cocteau, acclaiming him as a creator.[4] Upon hearing him play at Arles in 1964, Pablo Picasso is said to have exclaimed, "that man is of greater worth than I am!" and proceeded to draw on Baliardo's guitar.[4] Australian multi-instrumentalist Chris Freeman, his student in 1971, acknowledged de Plata's influence and teachings.[9][10]
Selected albumsedit
Juerga! (1963)
Flamenco Guitar (1965)
Manitas de Plata – The World's Greatest Living Flamenco Artist (1966)
^Pohren, Donn (1972), The Art of Flamenco, 3rd Edition, p. 79. "And the famous Manitas de Plata? A farce among flamenco guitarists, alarmingly deficient in his knowledge of flamenco, generally off even in his compás, of mediocre technique, but good, if nothing else, for a laugh."
^ abcdesbb.net 30 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine; Biography of Manitas de Plata, accessed 6 November 2014. (in French)
manitas, plata, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2024. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Manitas de Plata news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message Ricardo Baliardo 7 August 1921 5 November 2014 better known as Manitas de Plata little hands of silver was a Spanish 1 flamenco guitarist of Catalan Gitano descent born in southern France 2 Despite achieving worldwide fame he was criticized for not following certain rhythmic rules compas that are traditional in flamenco 3 Manitas de PlataManitas de Plata in 1968Background informationBirth nameRicardo BaliardoBorn 1921 08 07 7 August 1921Sete FranceDied5 November 2014 2014 11 05 aged 93 Montpellier FranceGenresFlamencoOccupation s MusicianInstrument s Guitar Contents 1 Life and career 2 Acclaim and legacy 3 Selected albums 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksLife and career editBaliardo was born in a gypsy caravan in Sete southern France 2 Nicknamed Manitas de Plata little hands of silver in Spanish he agreed to play in public only ten years after the death of Romani Belgian jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt in 1953 4 Baliardo attained fame in the United States after a photography exhibition in New York organized by his friend Lucien Clergue He had recorded his first official album in the chapel of Arles in France in 1963 on the Philips label It was later re released in 1967 on the Connoisseur Society label and sold through the Book of the Month Club 5 This record brought him to the attention of an American audience where a manager obtained a booking for him to play a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York on 24 November 1965 6 and on The Ed Sullivan Show the same year He went on to perform in various venues around the world 4 7 Manitas de Plata was the uncle of Diego Paco and Tonino Baliardo and cousin to Pablo Francois Canut Patchai Nicolas and Andre Reyes the sons of his cousin flamenco artist Jose Reyes with whom he performed as a duo in the 1970s all current or former members of the Catalan rumba band Gipsy Kings nbsp Statue of Manitas de Plata in front of Montpellier City Hall De Plata died on 6 November 2014 aged 93 in a retirement home in Montpellier He had suffered a severe heart attack in April 2013 8 Acclaim and legacy editOne of his recordings earned him a letter from Jean Cocteau acclaiming him as a creator 4 Upon hearing him play at Arles in 1964 Pablo Picasso is said to have exclaimed that man is of greater worth than I am and proceeded to draw on Baliardo s guitar 4 Australian multi instrumentalist Chris Freeman his student in 1971 acknowledged de Plata s influence and teachings 9 10 Selected albums editJuerga 1963 Flamenco Guitar 1965 Manitas de Plata The World s Greatest Living Flamenco Artist 1966 Manitas et les siens 1967 Flamenco Magic 1967 Flamenco L Espagne De Manitas 1968 The Art of the Guitar 1968 La guitare d or de Manitas 1970 Et Ses Guitares Gitanes 1972 Excitement of Manitas De Plata 1973 Hommages 1973 Soleil des Saintes Maries 1978 Feria Gitane 1994 Ole 1969 Manitas de Plata at Carnegie Hall 1995 Flaming Flamenco 1997 Manitas de Plata 1998 Camargue de Manitas 1999 Guitare D Or Manitas de Plata 1999 Flores de mi corazon 1999 Guitarra Flamenco 2001 Manitas de Plata y los Plateros 2004 See also editLos Ninos de SaraReferences edit Lonjon Bernard 2023 Manitas de Plata le lion aux griffes d argent in French Atelier Baie ISBN 978 2 919208 70 8 a b 1 dead link Pohren Donn 1972 The Art of Flamenco 3rd Edition p 79 And the famous Manitas de Plata A farce among flamenco guitarists alarmingly deficient in his knowledge of flamenco generally off even in his compas of mediocre technique but good if nothing else for a laugh a b c d esbb net Archived 30 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine Biography of Manitas de Plata accessed 6 November 2014 in French The Gypsies Wanderers in Time p 48 Who makes music and where New York Times 21 November 1965 AusStage www ausstage edu au Manitas de Plata Superstar of the Flamenco Guitar Is Dead at 93 McFarlane Chris Freeman entry at the Wayback Machine archived 3 August 2004 Archived from the original on 3 August 2004 retrieved 27 June 2013 Bolton Matthew 1 April 1982 Show Scene The Age Fairfax Media Retrieved 27 June 2013 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manitas de Plata Manitas de Plata s channel on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Manitas de Plata amp oldid 1221304396, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
