Acclaimed Spanish guitarist and composer Manuel Muñoz Alcón, better known as Manolo Sanlúcar, was born November 24, 1943, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz province), a town by the seashore, where the Guadalquivir River ‘says farewell’ to Andalusia.
Initiated by his father “el tocador” (the guitar player) Isidro Muñoz, Manolo learned to passionately love the guitar. Very quickly, he assimilated its art and perfected it to the extent of becoming one of the best performers of the present time.
At the age of 12, he made his debut as a professional, and at the age of 18, putting aside the fashionable flamenco, he began to investigate and shape his unique conception and interpretation of flamenco music, gradually reinforcing himself, not only as a privileged instrumentalist, but also as a composer. A musician from the sensitive and lively people, faithful to the cultural heritage and to the precise call of the contemporary.
Manolo Sanlúcar belonged to that small group of artists upon which nobody doubts when acknowledging their talent. Gifted with an exceptional musicality and a technique out of the ordinary, each of his recitals became a superb lesson in guitar, expertise and art.
His astonishing technique, which never lost contact with improvisation and the direct spiritual communication with flamenco style, didn’t make of virtuosity a goal in itself, but praised it to convey deep emotional qualities.
“Trebujena”, guitar and orchestra concert in RE MAJOR, opened a new door to flamenco in the path of classical music and set up a full composite revelation, starting from the flamenco roots.
His “Medea” work, composed for the Spanish National Ballet, was performed all over the world, gathering success.
“Tauromagia”, is a musical journey that the composer undertook through the world of bullfighting with themes where guitars and voices (a choir of strings, metals and percussion) keep threshing, note by note, the history of the art of the fighting, from the birth of the bull in the meadow (‘Nacencia’) to the triumphal appearance of the bullfighter through the big door (‘Prince’s Gate’), follow harmoniously linked the moments of hope, fear, happiness, death and glory that come into the fiesta.
On May 20th, 1992, he premiered in Malaga his symphonic poem “Aljibe”, a flamenco symphony for guitar, symphonic orchestra, male and female voices and percussion. The concert was with the Orquesta Ciudad de Málaga, conducted by Enrique García Asensio.
Manolo was the Musical Director of the film “Sevillanas” by Carlos Saura.
By request of the Malaga University, he composed and performed the soundtrack of the “La Enciclopedia Electrónica de Andalucia”, presented at the pavilion of Andalusia at the Expo 92.
He was the composer of the Japanese documentary soundtrack about the Romería del Rocío, titled “Viva la Blanca Paloma”. The music was recorded in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Manolo Sanlúcar himself.
In November 1997 he was nominated as a member of the Real Academia Provincial de Bellas Artes de Cádiz.
In October 2021, the Cádiz Provincial Council and the Sanlúcar de Barrameda City Council announced that they would publish the encyclopedia ‘La Guitarra Flamenca, Manolo Sanlúcar’. The work is a compendium of flamenco music made throughout 15 years by maestro Manolo Sanlúcar.
Irene García, president of the Cádiz Provincial Council highlighted the career of Manolo Sanlúcar, named Favorite Son of the Province in 2016, as “an unquestionable figure of contemporary music at the international level and absolute reference in the study over the years of one of our great signs of identity such as flamenco, an effort that now crystallizes into an encyclopedia that deserves to see the light and spread”.
‘La Guitarra Flamenca, Manolo Sanlúcar’ is an artistic-educational work about flamenco history. Written, directed, produced and presented by Manolo Sanlúcar, it is the result of 15 years of work and the participation of more than 40 artists. Available in audiovisual format and with the guitar as the conductor, along with singing and dancing, it comprises the artistic exposition of flamenco genres or styles from the formal aspect of their canons.
In its literary presentation, the work consists of a first book, titled ‘Andalucía: La otra historia’, divided into three volumes; and a second book, ‘La escuela’, made up of two other volumes. Meanwhile, in its musical section it has 12 DVDs, each of which consists of an audiovisual chapter of 27-29 minutes in length, plus a special 46-minute chapter. Altogether, it includes a total of 41 musical pieces.
Manolo Sanlucar died on August 27, 2022, in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Discography:
Recital Flamenco (Marfer, 1969)
Inspiraciones (Vergara, 1970)
Mundo y Formas De La Guitarra Flamenca Vol. 1 (CBS, 1971)
Mundo y Formas De La Guitarra Flamenca Vol. 2 (CBS, 1973)
Mundo y Formas De La Guitarra Flamenca. Volumen 3 (CBS, 1973)
Sanlucar (CBS, 1975)
King Of Flamenco Guitar (Columbia Masterworks, 1975)
Sentimiento (CBS, 1976)
Fantasia Para Guitarra y Orquesta (RCA Victor, 1978)
Y Regresarte (A Miguel Hernández) (RCA Victor, 1978)
Guitarras Flamencas/ Bailes Flamencos (Marfer, 1978)
Manolo Sanlúcar En Japon (RCA Victor, 1979)
Candela (RCA Victor, 1980)
Azahares (RCA Victor, 1981)
Al Viento (Polydor, 1982)
Tauromagia (Polydor, 1988)
Locura De Brisa y Trino (Mercury, 2000)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
Updated with new biographical text, photo and video.
Signing a portrait I did of Manolo- he said “Very good”