Manuel Javier García Herrera (born 1 March 1970) is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

-pop Chilean singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has won several awards and has twice received the Chilean National Music Prize, awarded by the Chilean Government (in 2008 and 2012).

Early life

García studied History and Geography Education at the

University of Tarapacá The University of Tarapacá () is a Chilean state university, with its main campus located in Arica, Chile. It is a derivative of the Chilean Traditional Universities, and is part of the Group of Regional Universities of Chile, the Council of Re ...

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

and then moved to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in 1994 to study professional guitar performance ("interpretación superior en guitarra") at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC Chile; ) is a traditional private university based in Santiago, Chile. It is one of the thirteen Catholic universities existing in Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical univ ...

with fellow musician Luis Orlandini. His professional career began in 1995 when he founded the band Coré (which also included later members of Chilean band Inti Illimani). However, he left Coré in 1997 and formed his new band Mecánica Popular with Diego Álvarez, Marco Chávez and fellow Coré member Mario Villalobos.

Musical career

Mecánica Popular mixed rock and

trova ''Trova'' is a style of Music of Cuba, Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente Province, Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cu ...

styles and were influenced by the "nueva canción chilena",

, rock and even poetry. They released three studio albums between 1999 and 2003 and now, though formally disbanded, they often support Manuel García in his solo performances.

Solo

Since 2003, García has worked on several solo projects, one of the first of which was a documentary about the life of Argentinian musician

Atahualpa Yupanqui Atahualpa Yupanqui (; born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine- Spanish singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered one of the most important Argentine folk musicians of the 20th cen ...

(2003). The same year he was invited to open the festival Mercat de Música Viva de Vic in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain. In 2005, he released his first album, ''Pánico'' (Panic) in collaboration with two members of Mecánica Popular, Christian Bravo y Diego Álvarez. The album received good reviews in the national Chilean media García's second solo album, ''Témpera'', was released in 2008 with a sound closer to trova, and rock, with references to

Violeta Parra Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (; 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She pioneered the Nueva Canción Chilena (The Chilean New Song), a renewal and a ...

and

. His raw guitar sound recalls fellow Chilean musician Chinoy, with whom he has shared a stage on several occasions. His third album was called ''S/T'' (2010). Its electric sound (including guitar solos) reveals a variety of influences, though it is considered a simpler album, free of the complex arrangements seen in the previous two. His final record to date, ''Acuario'', again surprised fans with electronic sounds that sometimes recall

Gepe Daniel Alejandro Riveros Sepúlveda (born September 28, 1981), known as Gepe, is a Chilean singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has released five solo albums in addition to one album as a member of the band Taller Dejao. He has been d ...

Javiera Mena Javiera Alejandra Mena Carrasco (born June 3, 1983) is a Chilean singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer based in Madrid, Spain. She started her musical career in the Chilean indie music scene in 2001 and achieved wider success after t ...

. ''Acuario'' has been called a well-accomplished twist on García's signature style, without losing the heart that comes through in his lyrics. Manuel Garcia is part of the line-up for the third edition of

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

ChileLollapalooza 2013 Line-up: Manuel García
Retrieved February 2, 2013. taking place in Santiago in April 2013.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2005 – ''Pánico'' * 2008 – ''Témpera'' * 2010 – ''S/T'' (

Altazor Awards The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...

winner). * 2012 – '' Acuario'' * 2014 – ''Retrato Iluminado'' * 2016 – ''Harmony Lane''

With Mario Rojas

* 1997 – ''Musi-cachi-lena''

DVD

*2011–''En vivo (Live at the) Teatro Caupolicá''

With Mecánica Popular

* 1999 – ''Mecánica Popular'' * 2000 – ''La casa de Asterión'' (nominated for an

Altazor Award The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...

) * 2003 – ''Fata Morgana'' * 2005 – ''En plena luz'' * 2009 – ''Mecánica Popular en vivo''

Other appearances

* 2008 – '' Víctor Jara sinfónico'' (with Concepción University Orchestra) * 2008 – ''eXile'' (Festival Mercat de música Viva de Vic,

) * 2010 – ''Música libre'', Los Bunkers

Soundtracks

* 1998 – ''Fantasmas de fierro'' * 2003 – ''Las condenadas''

Documentary

* ''

Roberto Parra Roberto Parra Mateo (born 6 April 1976 in Socuéllamos, Ciudad Real) is a Spanish middle distance runner. He specialized in the 800 and 1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. T ...

'' * ''La

cueca Cueca () is a family of musical styles and associated dances from Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. In Chile, the cueca holds the status of national dance, where it was officially declared as such by the Pinochet dictatorship on September 18, 19 ...

brava de Nano Núñez'', Mario Rojas documentary about Los Chileneros. * '' La ciudad de los fotógrafos'' * ''Catalejo'' * ''Las horas del día'' * ''El mar mi alma''

References

External links

Manuel García websiteManuel García Myspace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Manuel Chilean male guitarists 21st-century Chilean male singers Living people People from Arica 1970 births 21st-century guitarists University of Tarapacá alumni Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni