It becomes necessary to look back to discover so many masters and/or geniuses who contributed traits not sufficiently described, perhaps due to their character, a temperament that wanders between the paper flamenco if i saypeñathe person's own self.
Today I demand the presence of Manolo from Huelva (Riotinto, 1892 – Seville, 1976), whose fiftieth death anniversary was commemorated last Tuesday, the 12th. But aside from this anniversary, I draw the reader's attention to the fact that the guitar was then the medium for the true essence of flamenco singing, and, for many guitarists, this meant imbuing their performances with truth. Clearly, then, some found in the instrument the best means to make a living, while others simultaneously discovered a vehicle for expressing ideas, as we find in Manolo de Huelva.
Although some years had to pass before The Huelvano Having been recognized as a pioneer and achieving unimaginable glory, there is no longer any doubt that he is accepted as a fundamental node in the historical network. Admired by his peers, applauded by flamenco singers, and celebrated by all, he is, in comparison with other great masters, esteemed by connoisseurs as one of the most significant geniuses of the instrument.
In that regard, he was called by Andres Segovia the greatest guitarist of flamenco living, and Melchor de Marchena He proclaimed it as the greatest guitarist I had ever heard. Donn E. Pohren he said of him that He reigned as the supreme guitarist for half a century. JA Pérez-Bustamante rated it as the greatest exponent of rhythmic playing, whose invention and merits are indisputable. Y Luis Caballero He never tired of saying, and rightly so, that Manolo de Huelva is more often heard today in the commentary on his eccentricities than in the recordings of his guitar..
To my admired teacher and good friend Luis Maravillas, He is a great guitarist and creator, since we owe the current bulerías to him.And for the scholar Manuel Yerga Lancharro, He always said that he would take his art with him to the other world, and so he did, while he could.. Manuel VallejoFor his part, he confessed that He was comparable to Ramón Montoya, the best guitarist of all time., while Aurelio Sellés would say that After Capinetti, the one who touched me best was Niño de Huelva, because Montoya played in his own way, he was a phenomenon, but for him.
Lastly, Ferdinand of Triana Manolo from Huelva already told us the truth: A supreme guitar artist; a composer for the most delicate and capricious palate; an accompanist limited to what he must be, for he says, and he is right, that between verses, anyone who wishes can demonstrate their art, but once the singer takes the stage, the show is over. And since this is Niño de Huelva's maxim, this is what he has placed in the forefront as an accompanist… As a soloist, his work is simply marvelous..
But his teaching, as we advocated in the XX National Congress of FlamencoThe conference, held in Huelva back in September 1992, was not in keeping with its intended educational purpose. It did propose a set of guidelines for flamenco performance, but it also remained silent on any theoretical considerations regarding them. In other words, it confronts us, clearly and paradoxically, with something other than what we might call the self-serving exploitation of a practice that should be understood as directed towards others.
It is obvious that Manolo de Huelva was a man of undeniable talent who achieved great heights as a guitarist. And yet he left behind a small discography. But his work must be considered a masterpiece, both for providing insight into his style during those years (1922 to 1941) and for offering select examples, as well as hinting at a secret that his great admirer had already pointed out to us. Francisco Vallecillo: It lets us glean very little on a first listen. Our happiness comes when we listen to it again with particular delight..
"It was our duty to remember him on the golden anniversary of that fateful day, because with Manolo de Huelva, the guitar took a super-qualitative leap, his supreme mastery serving as a historical example to which we are all indebted. And debts must be paid."
Apart from the home recordings and those six studio sessions for cante and dance bequeathed by the collection zayas for III Art Biennial Flamenco City of SevilleHis recordings reveal that it is difficult to say whether Manolo de Huelva created a new method of approaching the guitar reality, but we can assure you that he uses references that, in themselves, carry a specific vision of reality.
This means that, in the use of a certain expressive discourse, a certain way of understanding the guitar is already included, which leads us to the conclusion that Manolo de Huelva did not approach the guitar movement just for the sake of it, but with a preconceived idea of what he was looking for with talent and inspiration, of the expressive channel he wanted to create and how to manifest it, resulting in a work applauded for its invention, purity and fluidity of style, as well as being well-suited to the way we think about how the playing began to be conceived from his time.
Understanding the mechanisms at work in his work from this perspective, apart from his knowledge of classical guitar, also reveals the subordination of the instrument to the fitting of the flamenco as a work of art, as betrayed by his left-hand phrasing and thumb pulse, imbued with a noble splendor, uninterrupted inspiration, and a feeling always consistent with the canteThis leads us to a truly exemplary and rigorous execution, an illuminating, exhaustive and methodologically impeccable inquiry into styles, resolved with a clarity as clear as it is worthy of the highest praise.
Therefore, any musical study on Manolo de Huelva must focus primarily on a whole bouquet of ingenious prompts thanks to his prodigious left hand and his privileged thumb, the living essence of his art.
As I wrote Pohren at their Lives and legends of flamenco, technically Manolo relies on his swift left thumb and hand, which he uses with his eyes closed. The entire line of the right hand—Pohren continues—is subordinate to his thumb; that is, his right hand is held in such a position that it gives the thumb complete freedom of movement. His other techniques? When he so desires, his staccato picking is unsurpassed, and his arpeggios are precise, perfect, although he rarely uses them. His strumming is excellent. Little is known of his tremolo, as he holds this florid and poetic technique in great contempt..
Alongside this judgment, it seems necessary to highlight another circumstance that, in some way, draws our attention. And I am referring to the fact that he failed to reason and explain his decision to remain silent.
Those who visited him say he lived in a situation that was nothing short of desperate. His health was failing, his hearing was already weak and fragile, and he was approaching old age with the consequent loss of his youthful spirit. And when someone visited him, as Ricardo Minho after winning the National of Cordoba in 1971He downplayed it by avoiding concrete answers. Thus he barricaded himself in his house on the Alameda de Hércules until his death.
It was our duty, however, to remember him on the golden anniversary of that fateful day, because with Manolo de Huelva, the guitar took a super-qualitative leap, his supreme mastery serving as a historical example to which we are all indebted. And debts must be repaid.
