Word: manita
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...performer did not like the feel of the crowd-"les marts," he contemptuously called them, "the dead ones." His playing was listless until midnight, when the dead ones left, and an enthusiastic group of flamenco appreciators-some gypsies among them-arrived from Aries. Then 29-year-old Ricard Baillardo (Manita de Plata, or Little Silver Hands to his admirers) came alive...
...Christ Danced." The current rage of the Riviera, Manita de Plata is one of a handful of guitarists in southern France who get out their instruments after the tourists leave and play the fiercely emotional music that they call their own. Anyone can finger the guitar, they believe, but only the true gypsy can play "flamenco"-a word that to Andalusians literally means "gypsy...
Playing for Himself. Born in a gypsy wagon near Sète, a seaport near Marseille, De Plata is of the best flamenco tradition. He is illiterate, cannot even read music. His father was a horse trader who taught his son the guitar and encouraged him ("Manita, you have remarkable hands"). For the next 20 years, roaming southern France in the caravan, De Plata stayed out of school to spend his time practicing and listening to other gypsy players...
...turned down an offer from a New York nightclub because he gets seasick on ships and fears planes. Recently he tore up a glowing letter from Admirer Jean Cocteau. "You don't realize who Cocteau is," said a reproving friend. Replied De Plata: "Does Cocteau know who Manita de Plata...
| 1 |