This October 4, the I Paco de Lucía Awards have been given to young guitarists who are a promise and to Manuel Morao, the other side of the coin: a living legend of the best flamenco tradition.
Manuel Morao is the great winner of the I Flamenco Guitar Awards “Maestro Paco de Lucía – Molino del Manto”. These awards are a joint initiative of the Paco de Lucía Foundation and the El Molino del Manto farm.
They consist of two sections: a Flamenco Guitar Contest for young promises and, on the other, the Legend Award, the award won by Manuel Morao this October 4, which focuses on seniority.
Two types of prizes
Legend It is honorary, and is given in recognition of a long career of a flamenco guitarist with transcendence in the evolution and enrichment of the genre. Estrella Galicia is its sponsor. It is the one that Manuel Morao has obtained at 94 years old, and that, in order not to put his health at risk, Pepe del Morao, his grandson, has collected.
The I Hyundai Guitar Competition for Young Promises (between 16 and 26 years) has given three prizes: composition, interpretation and the most complete guitarist. The prizes are scholarships with a value between 3,000 and 4,000 euros.
The origin of these “Paco de Lucía awards”
It was in May 1962 in Jerez when a very young Paco de Lucía signed up for the mythical Flamenco Contest held there as Francisco de Algeciras. He performed as part of “Los Chiquitos de Algeciras”, the artistic duo he formed with his brother Pepe de Lucía.
Pepe won the Antonio Chacón prize for singing. For Paco there was no category because he was a minor. It had to be invented. “This child cannot be left without a prize,” the jury concluded. Soon after, the two brothers recorded their first album together. The rest we continue telling you here.
This moment in the life of the genius is what has inspired the first Paco de Lucía awards. And with the same spirit: discover talent, make it visible and push it. The flamenco guitar, which requires so many hours of effort and solitude and how difficult it is to make its way to the public, needs initiatives that facilitate that path for those who are starting.
The place: Molino del Manto
Molino del Manto (molinodelmanto.com) is an estate for events in the Madrid town of Chinchón.
El Molino has been a showcase for many years of the 1906 Days of the Spanish Guitar, a unique musical event through which some of the best musicians on the national and international scene have passed. El Molino has been a showcase for many years of the 1906 Days of the Spanish Guitar, a unique musical event through which some of the best musicians on the national and international scene have passed.
A legend named Manuel Morao
Manuel Morao was born on Calle Nueva, located in the heart of the neighborhood of Santiago de Jerez, Cádiz. He first took a guitar in his hands in 1936, a guitar borrowed from his neighborhood barber. The following year, his father bought him that same guitar and they found him his first teacher, who turned out to be Javier Molina. After some informal performances at parties, sales and tabancos, at the young age of 12, he got on a professional stage for the first time.
In 1945, during his stay in Seville, had the privilege of meeting Don Antonio Mairena, who opened the doors to the great figures of flamenco, such as La Niña de los Peines and Tomás Pavón. Shortly after, Manolo Caracol incorporated it into his show “Zambra”, which at that time was the most important and recognized production of popular music.
Manuel Morao’s path continued to advance, with incursions into recordings and the world of cinema. In 1951, he participated in the film “La Niña de la Venta” with Lola Flores and Manolo Caracol, which marked another milestone in his artistic career.
The Golden Age
The international tours come to integrate into the company of Antonio the Dancer. They visited Europe and the Middle East in 1953, and Latin America the following year. United States in 1955.
In between, he recorded albums with the greatest and most popular singers of the moment (and of history): Antonio Mairena, la Paquera de Jerez or Fernando Terremoto. He participates in the recordings of the “Antología del Cante Flamenco y del Cante Gitano”.
In 1964 he returned to Jerez after a world tour that toured the planet (from New York to Tokyo) with Antonio’s ballet with which he returned in 1970 with a public company: the National Ballet. With this he participates in the successful “Festivals of Spain”.
Manuel’s speech has not changed over the years: “You have to be authentic.” And that is achieved by knowing the roots, without losing sight of them. That is why he is especially proud of the saga that bears the name of the Moraos around the world.
The legacy of Manuel Morao
This great art designer and created a unique school for the accompaniment of singing and dancing widely referenced by the flamenco world, but less visible to the ordinary spectator. The impact of his style is recognizable in flamenco today.
In the documentary “El cante bueno duele” produced in the Netherlands, Manuel chats with his nephew Moraito Chico. The patriarch of the Moraos says that the characteristic sound of the family “has been stolen” by the common flamenco. The longed Moraito Chico qualifies the words of his uncle: “Well, they have borrowed it from us.”
It could be that worldwide, nine out of ten guitarists of any genre in the last forty years, would like to be like Paco de Lucia, but one hundred percent of flamenco guitarists would like to have the rhythm and touch of the Morao. That is where the importance and validity of Manuel Morao lies.