“MANUEL” a film by Tao Ruspoli
August 5, 2015
Vida Flamenca (34 articles)
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“MANUEL” a film by Tao Ruspoli

“MANUEL” is a short documentary about the legendary Andalusian rock pioneer, singer-songwriter and flamenco guitarist Manuel Molina of Lole y Manuel by noted filmographer Tao Ruspoli.

Manuel Molina Jiménez was born in Ceuta (Spain) in 1948. He was a flamenco guitarist, like his father. Manuel joined the seminal rock band Smash in 1971. This Seville-based group was one of the first rock bands in southern Spain. Smash played a mix of blues-rock, progressive rock and psychedelia. They led the way to the celebrated Andalusian rock of the 1970s.

In 1972, Manuel and his wife, Dolores Montoya Rodriguez, better known as Lole, formed a duo called Lole y Manuel. They pioneered the ‘nuevo flamencos’ sound.

The duo’s first recording was Nuevo dia, released in 1975. Lole y Manuel stayed together as a duo until 1993. Their discography includes Nuevo día – El origen de una leyenda (1975), Pasaje del agua (1976), Lole y Manuel (1977), Al alba con alegría, joined by progressive Andalusian rock band Imán, Califato Independiente (1980), Casta (1984), and Lole y Manuel cantan a Manuel de Falla (1992).

Lole y Manuel’s music has also appeared in Carlos Saura’s “Flamenco” film and “Kill Bill Vol. 2” by Quentin Taratino.

To listen to Manuel Molina is to learn the most mysterious keys to the gypsy way of understanding life and how they live their music. Subtle messages of opening but as Paco de Lucía said, ‘not departing from the old trunk of flamenco.’ He created a personal touch for bulerías and brought a new poetry to flamenco. He had the most sublime voice, and continued to be a humble source of truth and wisdom. A man loved inside and outside music.’

Vida Flamenca

Vida Flamenca

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