Manuel Soto Loreto, known as Manuel Torre or Manuel Torres (1878 – 1933), was a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

(Kalo)

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 ...

singer.

Beginning

Torre was born in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway bet ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in the neighbourhood of San Miguel, which together with the neighbourhood of Santiago, is a traditional centre of flamenco in Jerez. One of the most representative singers of Jerez, he was influenced by singers Manuel Molina, El Marrurro (from Jerez) and Enrique el Mellizo (from

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

). He developed his career in the cafés cantante of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. In his turn, he was one of the main influences in the work of singers like

La Niña de los Peines Pastora Pavón Cruz, known as La Niña de los Peines (10 February 1890 – 26 November 1969), is considered the most important woman flamenco singer of the 20th century. She was a sister of singers Arturo Pavón and Tomás Pavón, also an importan ...

Antonio Mairena Antonio Cruz García, known as Antonio Mairena (1909–1983), was a Spanish musician, who tried to rescue a type of flamenco, which he considered to be pure or authentic. He rescued or recreated a high number of songs that had been almost lost ...

or Manuel Agujetas.

Career

Torre was an honored guest, singing the siguiriyas, at the

Concurso de Cante Jondo El Concurso del Cante Jondo (Contest of the Deep Song) was a fiesta of flamenco arts, music, song, and dance, held in Granada in 1922. Conceived and initiated by composer Manuel de Falla, it enjoyed early and strong support from the poet Federico ...

held at the Alhambra in Granada. This 1922 music festival was organized by

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first ...

to celebrate the flamenco arts.Álvarez Caballero, ''El cante flamenco'' (Madrid: Alianza Editorial 1994) at 212, 215-216. An encyclopedic singer, he excelled in

siguiriyas ''Siguiriyas'' (; also ''seguiriyas'', ''siguerillas'', ''siguirillas'', '' seguidilla gitana'', etc.) are a form of flamenco music in the cante jondo category. This deep, expressive style is among the most important in flamenco. Unlike other pa ...

soleá ''Soleares'' (plural of ''soleá'', ) is one of the most basic forms or '' palos'' of Flamenco music, probably originating among the Calé Romani people of Cádiz or Seville in Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain. It is usually accompa ...

, saetas, and

fandangos Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

. However, he rarely entered the recording studio, and his recordings are of irregular quality:

The flamenco fans who have only listened to him in recordings only know his shadow, because he made all those recordings in a state of unconsciousness. (Mairena 1976)

He died in

Discography

''Historic Recordings / Grabaciones históricas 1909-1931'', Empresa Pública de Gestión, 1997 (Complete recordings)

Sources

ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: ''La discoteca ideal del flamenco'', Editorial Planeta, Barcelona, 1995 MAIRENA, Antonio: ''Confesiones de Antonio Mairena'', Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, 1976

External links

Manuel Torre
1878 births 1933 deaths Singers from Andalusia Flamenco singers People from Jerez de la Frontera Spanish male singers Spanish Romani people {{spain-singer-stub