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"Manitas
de Plata,
a living legend"
Documentary 52mn. 2003
Authors : Jacques DURAND /
Christian PASSUELLO
Production : Les Films du Sud
TV broadcasting : France 3, SVT(Sweden)
Manitas de Plata, "little silver hands", is a childhood nickname.
But today, Manitas de Plata is a living legend, a guitar legend.
Raised in a caravan, Manitas comes from a large family, part of a gypsy
community of Montpellier, in the south of France. Equipped with a six-chord
guitar and a mean right hand, he has toured the world, accumulating concerts,
debts and wives along the way.
Picasso once said of him: "He should be paid much more than I because
he is more talented".
Despite being over 80 years of age, his music, a mix of flamenco and Catalonian
rumba, is like his life: no set plan, always instinctive, unpredictable
and dynamic.
Despite his success, he has always remained faithful to the tradition
and principles of travelling peoples. His aura and popularity have also
contributed to transmitting the gypsy culture, a victim of many age-old
persecutions.
