Manitas de Plata
| Manitas de Plata | |
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Manitas de Plata in 1968
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ricardo Baliardo |
| Born |
7 August 1921 Sète, France |
| Died | 5 November 2014 (aged 93) Montpellier, France |
| Genres | Flamenco |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Associated acts | Los Reyes, Gipsy Kings |
| Website | Website on Manitas de Plata |
Manitas de Plata (born Ricardo Baliardo; 7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014) was a Spanish flamenco guitarist born in Southern France. Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was critiqued for not following certain rhythmic rules (compás) that are traditional in flamenco.
Ricardo Baliardo was born in a gypsy caravan in Sète in southern France. He became famous by playing each year at the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer gypsy pilgrimage in Camargue, where he was recorded live by Deben Bhattacharya.
Manitas de Plata ("Little Hands of Silver" in Spanish) only agreed to play in public ten years after the death of Django Reinhardt, unanimously considered the king of gypsy guitarists. One of his recordings earned him a letter from Jean Cocteau acclaiming him as a creator.
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 the guitar.
Manitas de Plata garnered fame in the United States only 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, for the Phillips label. It was later re-released, in 1967, by the Connoisseur Society label and sold through the Book of the Month Club. This was a popular LP that brought him to the attention of an American audience. An American manager obtained a booking for him to play a concert in Carnegie Hall in New York on November 24, 1965.
He toured the world from 1967, and recorded discs. He played with the dancer Nina Corti. In 1968 he played at the Royal Variety Performance in London.
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