He was born a hundred years ago plus one. Always full of anecdotes, memories, and knowledge. I met Manolo Morilla when he bought raw milk from an elderly gentleman in front of his house. A devoted friend of Diego del Gastor From adolescence, he had this touch firmly ingrained in his mind and hands. Living a conventional life as the head of a family, he lived his flamenco at odd hours, always in the shadow of his guru Diego.
What interest could there be in the memories of a guitarist from Morón who was born a century ago and passed away twelve years back, taking with him the wisdom of a lifetime spent alongside a guitarist celebrated by a certain circle? Speaking from my own experience, I can say that the exchange of knowledge and insight with Manolo Morilla was always enriching, a window into the recent history of flamenco art.
The name Manuel Morilla will only ring a bell for flamenco aficionados from Morón, Utrera, La Puebla, Lebrija, and other important flamenco towns in the region. At 77, he had rubbed shoulders with many legendary figures of the genre. flamenco of the twentieth century, but above all it has been the greatest witness of all the exceptional development of the flamenco in an era spanning from the artistic reign of Ramon Montoya, up to the present day of Paco de Lucía and his wave of followers.
With the first guitar that sang Jose Menese It was Manolo Morilla's, as a boy, who went to a wedding. In the morning, when the wedding was over, he stayed with some friends who were guitar enthusiasts. It was three in the afternoon there, and one of the friends said, "I'm going to look for a boy, a certain Menese, who is a guitar enthusiast." cante and sings very well.” Shortly after Moreno Galvan He took the young flamenco singer to Madrid, and the rest is history.
Figures from outside went to Morón brought by Camacho, who had a bull ranch. Aurelio, La Niña de los Peines, Manolo Vargas from CádizBig names used to pass through Morón back then. Morilla played for the big names. He played for Miguel Vargas many times, and José Menese, to Clavel, to Lebrijano, to Fernanda and Bernarda, to Talega, to Perrate and others. These were well-paid parties with these flamenco singers; Diego del Gastor organized everything, like a manager. Of the new guitarists, and those Morilla liked best, he named Juan Habichuela, Manolo SanlúcarPaco de Lucía, and of course, Paco del Gastor“The best guitarist Morón de la Frontera has ever produced, he blows us all away!” Morilla declared.
Manolo was saying that before the war, the old folks sang soleá and seguiriya, but not much. "The other stuff" was much more popular; everyone wanted fandangos. He was The Child of La Calzá, the Child of Marchena, the Child of Aznalcóllar…Many children. That's what was popular then, even more so than bulería is now; bulería was of very little importance.
Morilla said that when he was young, styles weren't discussed. canteWhether they were from Utrera, Alcalá, or Cádiz, and so on, that came later with Antonio MairenaIf he sang anything of Thomas, they said “the canteThomas's," or Manolito de la María, Juan TalegaThen Mairena arrived and said, “Well, the canteJoaquín's songs were like this and were sung like this,” and the SernetAnd the other one, and the other one. Before Mairena, on the street, nobody even knew what a debla or a caña or anything like that was… Someone would sing and say 'this is a martinete', but nobody knew what that was. Morilla pointed out that in his youth, let's say the 40s and 50s of the last century, the aficionados were limited to tangos, basic soleá, alegrías, plus some popular songs, two or three amateurs who played chucurrún chucurrún, and they had no idea what a proper guitar playing was, nothing more than sevillanas and all that.
«The name Manuel Morilla will only be known to fans of Morón, Utrera, La Puebla, Lebrija, and other important flamenco towns in the region. At 77 years old, he had rubbed shoulders with many legendary figures of the flamenco of the 20th century»
Morilla was the promoter and first president of the flamenco gathering in Morón around 70. They started with sixteen members, five pesetas every week, and when they had saved up a little money, they would take Fernanda, or so-and-so, and everyone to the plaza, since they didn't have a place to meet. Mairena, Fernanda and Bernarda, Pepa, and others came there. Borrico…Many people from Jerez in the early years… Juanata, Mono, Funi too, Curro Malena and LebrijanoFrom starting with sixteen, they grew to have over four hundred members.
Diego liked to play alegrías in E, but outside of bulerías, he was very short. Then there was the Álvarez Childwho played the guitar very well. Manolo had heard stories of Pepe Naranjo and others who knew him. Niño Álvarez hit his finger hard, it became gangrenous, and they had to amputate it.
Morilla had had many experiences with Anzonini y FernandilloHe accompanied countless festival-goers, flamenco dancers, and singers. He grew up with them and spent time with them. Also with the flamenco dancer. Pepe RiosBut the best he had ever seen, he said, was Quino. “The flair Anzonini had when he danced, that came from Quino, but Quino "It was purer, nothing more from the waist up, like that one from Jerez, La Pipa, that's how Quino from Morón danced," Morilla explained.
Morilla said that when the first recordings of Sabicas came out, everyone in Spain was amazed. He had gone to America, and people didn’t really know him, no records, nothing, yet that way of playing was so flamenco. But then, when Paco de Lucía came along, everyone was left speechless. “This is the ultimate!” they said.
Manolo said that it was Ramón Montoya who revolutionized the entire guitar technique. Before, they played with a lot of thumb picking and fingerpicking, but little arpeggio and little tremolo, and the bulería rhythm was all done by percussion. But the alzapúa came from Manolo from HuelvaHe said that for as long as he could remember, Ramón Montoya was the one who revolutionized the guitar, that he was a revolutionary, just like RicardoLike Paco de Lucía, there have been many who have played very well, but these have been the great revolutionaries of modern flamenco guitar. Ricardo changed the rhythms to bulería, he began to change this two-beat rhythm and now we have the 12-beat bulería, as it is today.
Morilla recounted that with the first recordings of You know Everyone in Spain was amazed. He went to America and nobody knew him, no records or anything, that way of playing, so flamenco. But then when Paco de Lucía came, everyone was speechless, saying, "This is the ultimate!"
This wise maestro concluded his remarks by saying that Diego del Gastor's touch has a distinctive quality that can be recognized everywhere. It's not an influence per se, but rather a very distinctive signature that is unmistakable.
When Manuel Morilla became a widow, he put his guitar in its case and never took it out again.
