Manzanita
The Gypsy poet
This gypsy from Madrid takes from his deep flamenco roots the sensitivity and mastery of compás and from his encounter with poetry,
“They told me that he was the first gypsy singer-songwriter” he had the humility that characterized him. Maybe it was. But he was undoubtedly a genius and creator, an immense artist. In the history of Spanish music, his name is capitalized.
This gypsy from Madrid takes from his deep flamenco roots the sensitivity and mastery of compás and from his encounter with poetry, he opens his heart to new lyrics and new poetic discourses never covered by gypsy artists. That combination is magical. And its success and its cultural and social impact have left a deep mark on flamenco and music in general.
Biography
“the first gypsy singer-songwriter”
José Ortega Heredia took Manzanita as his artistic name because, according to those who were able to meet him, he used to wear “colorao” because of his extreme shyness. Manzanita was born on February 7, 1956 in Madrid. His father was the cantaor and bailaor Rafael Ortega García and his mother the bailaora Trinidad Heredia Jiménez, Manolo Caracol’s nephew, used to move in artistic environments from a very young age. It is not strange that, in this gypsy family of flamencos, José made his debut as a very young child at the Zambra, a Madrid venue where his mother also performed. He moved to the Tablao de los Canasteros at the age of 12, working at the same time in the paintings of Camarón and Carmen Sevilla. Three years later he joined the Torrebermejas team and the Café de Chinitas, sharing the stage with La Chunga.
In that effervescent Madrid of the 70s, new gypsy rhythms will emerge that connect with the most ancient flamenco but that fearlessly turn towards experimentation and modernity. Los Chorbos were one of that group in which José Luis de Carlos participated as producer. Already when he was part of Los Chorbos, he claimed the rights of the gypsy people. A clear example is the song “Pueblo gitano”: “Join, gypsy people / to demand from the payos / our human rights, / we want to join / in today’s society / and not be marginalized”.
Manzanita, at just 18 years old, was part of that group whose urban rumba reflected the marginal situation in the suburbs of the big cities, and which exerted notable influence on Los Chichos and dozens of similar formations.
In 1978, he recorded his first solo album, Little Noise and Much Duende, with a very personal style with flamenco nuances. The theme Verde, an adaptation of a poem by Lorca, achieved enormous success. From that moment Manzanita became a recognized artist throughout Spain and his themes permeated Spanish society as a whole. The strength of his art and his originality are his calling cards. Has he worked with Enrique Morente —a key figure when it came to understanding the relationship between flamenco and poetry— they both inspired each other and instilled in him his love of literature while accompanying him on the guitar on his album Se Hace Camino al Andar (1975), bearer of lyrics very close to the line of the so-called social poetry.
From his deep gypsy roots he takes the sensitivity and mastery of compás and from his encounter with poetry, he opens his heart to new lyrics and new poetic discourses never covered by gypsy artists. That combination is magical. And its overwhelming success. In 1980 he recorded his second LP Spirit without a name with clapper Daniel Barba de las Arenas. With his third album, in 1981, Talco y bronze, he managed to exceed half a million copies in Spain with the singles Un ramito de violetas and For your absence. It was followed by When the night wraps you (1982), I love her to die (1983) and Mal de amores (1984).
Manzanita was one of the great gypsy artists who showed the world the deepest sensitivity and flamenco style. Only a small sample sings paraphrasing Zorrilla in his song «Romance Arab»:
Wipe away the tears, gypsy,
don't torment me like that,
that I have, gypsy,
a new Eden for you.
Oriental
Of course, nothing is by chance. Manzanita does not come from just any family, they were all top-level flamenco artists, and profound connoisseurs of cante, among which her uncle Manolo Caracol stands out, who knew and surrounded himself with the best poets and musicians of his time. To situate the figure of Manolo Caracol, it is very significant to collect his response in one of the many interviews when the journalist asks him about a performance that he remembers in a special way; “ Many years ago, at the Palacio de las Dueñas, a party organized by the Dukes of Alba, with Queen Victoria Eugenia and the Prince of Wales next to the “tablao” and King Alfonso XIII strolling through the patio with Primo de Rivera and Cruz Conde, while I sang this copla”. In those experiences between aristocrats and poets and musicians, such as Falla or García Lorca, Manzanita’s poetic sensibility and the magic of his music are forged.
With those wickers, Manzanita was a genius of his time and made new baskets. His flamenco pop music and sweet and poetic melodies had an overwhelming success both in Spain and in other European countries. With him, flamenco music achieved impressive popularity and diffusion. And not only did the public adore him, but many gypsy and payo musicians were inspired by his work and his personal style. The Gypsy Kings and Sting himself, when he sang in Spanish, followed the musical trail that Manzanita drew in the firmament of the greats.
The originality and the rhythms of the melodies together with the poetic depth of his lyrics inspired by Bécquer or Góngora or Lorca and Zorrilla give his work a universal value. His early death has deprived us gypsies, but also the whole world, of enjoying his art and his great humanity.
Discography
All the hits of Manzanita
