Ricardo Baliardo (7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014), better known as Manitas de Plata, was a

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

of Spanish Gitano descent born in southern France.
/ref> Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was criticized for not following certain rhythmic rules ('' Flamenco#Compás or time signature, compás'') that are traditional in flamenco.

Life and career

Baliardo was born in a

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

caravan in

Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises' ...

, southern France. He became famous by playing each year at the

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (, lit.: "Saint Marys of the Sea"; Provençal Occitan: ''Li Santi Mario de la Mar'') is the capital of the Camargue ( Provençal Occitan ''Camarga'') in the south of France. It is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône ...

gypsy pilgrimage in the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the ''P ...

, 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 Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

.. One of his recordings earned him a letter from

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

acclaiming him as a creator.esbb.net
; Biography of Manitas de Plata, accessed 6 November 2014. Upon hearing him play at

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

in 1964,

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

is said to have exclaimed "that man is of greater worth than I am!" and proceeded to draw on the guitar. De Plata garnered fame in the United States only after a photography exhibition in New York, organized by his friend

Lucien Clergue Lucien Clergue (; 14 August 1934 – 15 November 2014) was a French photographer. He was Chairman of the Academy of Fine Arts, Paris for 2013. Biography Lucien Clergue was born in Arles, France. At the age of 7 he began learning to play the ...

. He had recorded his first official album in the chapel of

in France, in 1963, for the Phillips label. It was later re-released, in 1967, by the

Connoisseur Society Connoisseur Society is an American audiophile classical music and jazz record label. It was founded by E. Alan Silver and James Goodfriend. Silver and Goodfriend helped artists from the Eastern bloc to perform in the US during the Cold War, amo ...

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 Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

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 The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

in London. He toured Australia in September 1972 supported by Los Baliardos (Hippolyte Baliardo, Manero Baliardo, José Reyes, Ricardo Bissaro). His ''Sevillana'' was included in Scorsese's After Hours (1985) soundtrack. De Plata was the uncle of Jacques, Maurice, and Tonino Baliardo and cousin to Paul, François (Canut), Patchaï, Nicolas and André Reyes (the sons of his cousin, flamenco artist José Reyes (1928-1979), all members of the

Catalan Rumba The Catalan rumba ( ca, rumba catalana, ) is a genre of music that developed in Barcelona's Romani community beginning in the 1950s and 1960s. Its rhythms are derived from the Andalusian flamenco rumba, with influences from Cuban music and rock ...

band

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in southern France, who perform mostly in Catalan but also mix in Spanish with southern French dialects. Although the group members were born in France, t ...

. Australian multi-instrumentalist Chris Freeman, his student in 1971, acknowledged de Plata's influence and teachings.McFarlane, . Archived fro
the original
on 3 August 2004; retrieved 27 June 2013. ManitasDePlataMontpellier2

De Plata died in a retirement home in Montpellier on 6 November 2014. The cause of death was not disclosed, although it was reported that de Plata had been in poor health since suffering a severe heart attack in April 2013. Many members of his own family were also well known flamenco musicians, including his younger brother Hippolyte Baliardo (1928-2009), and his eldest son Manero Baliardo (1940-2012). Another son, Bambo Baliardo, is still an active musician and performer as of 2015.

Selected albums

*''Juerga!'' (1963,

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

, 844 535 PY)Recorded in Arles, France, in October 1963, and featured Jose Reyes and Manero Baliardo, and the gypsies of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. Producer E. Alan Silver; recording Engineer David B. Jones. Re-released by

in 1967 as CS2003. *''Flamenco Guitar'' (1965) *''Flamenco Guitar'' *''Manitas de Plata - The world's greatest living flamenco artist'' (1966, Phillips, BL 7787) *''Manitas et les siens'' (1967, Columbia Records, FL 363) *''Flamenco Magic'' (1967, Columbia Records, CS 9558) *''Flamenco!! (L'Espagne De Manitas)'' (1968, CBS, 63449) *''The Art of the Guitar'' (1968, Everest Records, SDBR 3201) *''La guitare d'or de Manitas'' (1970, Columbia Records, S 63915) *''Et Ses Guitares Gitanes'' (1972, CBS, S65020) *''Excitement of Manitas De Plata'' (1973, RCA Camden, CDS 1139) *''Hommages'' (1973, Embassy Records, S EMB 31003) *''Soleil des Saintes-Maries (1978) *''Feria Gitane'' (1994) *''Olé'' (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, Troubadour Records) *''Guitarra Flamenco'' (2001) *''Manitas de Plata y los Plateros'' (2004)

References

External links

Profile
Foroflamenco.com; accessed 6 November 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Manitas de Plata 1921 births 2014 deaths People from Sète French Romani people Flamenco guitarists French guitarists French male guitarists Romani guitarists Columbia Records artists Philips Records artists 20th-century French musicians 20th-century guitarists 20th-century French male musicians

Life and career

Selected albums

See also

References

External links