There are artistic tastes that are universal. The love for flamenco dance is not exclusive to Andalusians, and general preferences are those that provoke sensations such as beauty, pleasure, and skill in the arts—all subjective experiences that, in the case we are discussing today, I associate with certain dancers. These are not merely academic constructs, but are rooted in innate human instincts, undoubtedly shaped by environmental and family conditions.
In this profile I frame Manuela Carrasco (Seville, 1958), the teacher born in the Vega de Triana, specifically in the Tejado del Moro, and who is a branch of the gypsy trunk of The Cordobans, since she is the daughter of José Carrasco Manzano, The Deaf, a respectful Gypsy of Huelva descent and a macho dancer who, at first, was opposed to his daughter being exposed to the sacrifices of the profession, and Cipriana Salazar Heredia, related to The Camborios.
This self-taught artist has dance in the DNA of her father, José, and her paternal uncles, Antonio the Cordoban y The Bunion, and that, at 18 years of age, she was already called “the goddess of dance” flamenco" by Juan de Dios Ramírez Heredia, has been captivating generations of viewers for over half a century – specifically 57 years – and has been the object of admiration for its impact on Roma and non-Roma cultural society.
It is working on The Basket Makers, a tablao that he ran in Madrid Manolo Caracol, where Manuela meets the good guy Joaquin Amador (Navy Polot, Alicante, 1952 – Seville, 2023), her artistic and life partner, whom she married in 1976, becoming since then the musical and essential reference in the dancer's artistic firmament.
Three years later, their daughter would be born Zamara Carrasco, artistic successor of the saga, and the decade of the eighties proved favorable to Manuela with her participation in the Andalusian dog days festivals, where she became the star of the same thanks to her soleares, alegrías and bulerías, mainly.
Manuela challenged traditional rules and the usual perspective of the Sevillian school. She explored new ways of representing Gypsy dance, breaking molds and barriers that had been established over time, and thus new perspectives emerged that led her to the creation of aesthetic compositions that provoke such an emotional response from the audience.
These stage arrangements, full of genius that have been indelibly engraved in the world of flamenco, form a legacy, a unique style with a lasting effect that, due to its cultural and social impact, has influenced other artists with a legacy that continues to inspire subsequent generations.
The above does not mean that Manuela Carrasco is no longer relevant and inspiring. The Triana native is still active, and her appearance on the scene continues to provide life, that is, the ability to dance to cante, capturing beauty on stage and depicting her body language in a realistic and detailed manner.
«The Trianera is active, and her appearance on the scene continues to provide life, that is, the ability to dance to the cante, capturing beauty on stage and depicting her body language in a realistic and detailed manner.
But her more than eleven decades of artistic career are reflected in a mirror that reminds us of where her heritage comes from and what her legacy is. And in it appears the image of Manuela Amador Carrasco (Seville, 1988), artistically Manuela Carrasco Daughter, who appeared alongside her parents on June 17, 2017, at the XII Suma Flamenca in Madrid.
It was, however, at the delivery of the Compass of the Cante, at the end of May 2019, when Manuela announced the creation of the Manuela Carrasco Foundation chaired by her daughter, Manuela Amador Carrasco, an entity to give visibility to Roma women, recognize the Roma ethnic group and promote research to preserve a flamenco in danger of extinction, the one represented by Manuela Carrasco.
It would be on September 29, 2021 when Manuela Carrasco closed the VII Málaga Biennial with Airs of a woman, giving his daughter Manuela the alternative on stage dancing the alegrías Path of light, composed by her father Joaquín and herself.
We also associate with this family stage relationship the beginning of Manuela's farewell tour, on March 9, 2023, at the closing of the XXVIII Festival de Jerez with Always Manuela and the special collaboration of Manuela Carrasco Hija, both of whom were astonished when Joaquín Amador died on May 31 of that year due to a circulatory condition.
It was therefore necessary to overcome the death of such a loved one. And it is the stage where artists alleviate their sorrows. Manuela Carrasco Hija, for example, was presented at the 2nd Biennial of Flamenco in the Province of Seville, a cycle that began on November 23 of that year in Mairena del Alcor and where the caña and seguiriya danced. And it coincides with the mother in the XXIII Biennial of Flamenco, where on September 29, 2024 Manuela Carrasco presented the montage Like the Phoenix in his farewell to Seville.
And as for 2025, we reported on the joint presence of Manuela Carrasco and her daughter on February 20th in Barcelona, where as we already reported in expoflamenco, Manuela received the VI Silver Mosque on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the tablao Flamenco Cordovan.
We also recorded February 27, the date on which Manuela Carrasco Hija premiered the show at the Jerez Festival Anagram. Change in the order of letters that gives rise to another word., to which we add the recognition that the teacher received at the IX Biennial of Malaga in Ojén, on July 26 with the proposal Dancing to ManuelaWhere Pastora Galvan, Gem Moneo, Zamara Carrasco, Manuela Carrasco daughter and Saray of the Kings They paid tribute to the Archduchess of the Goblin.
But where they have been placed face to face was in the call yesterday, September 17, in the Amalgama cycle Word of the flamencosWe were invited by the Seville Biennial in the Royal Artillery Factory, and after sharing the stage and memories with the protagonists, I weave a congenital bond that, from an artistic perspective, unites them: the mirror of Manuela Carrasco Hija is not herself, but when she looks at herself in her illustrious mother, Manuela Carrasco. ♦
