Heart-Flower: Manitas de Plata and "Toringa"

Flamenco is on tap today as our random tune from Manitas de Plata, a French flamenco guitarist who flouted flamenco rhythmic conventions and achieved worldwide fame. He was born Ricardo Baliardo in 1921 in a gypsy caravan in southern France. He began his career playing in an annual gypsy pilgrimage in Carmargue, France but only agreed to play for a wider public ten years after the death of preeminent gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Pablo Picasso, on hearing him, exclaimed that Manitas de Plata was "of greater worth than I am!" He became known in the US in the 1960s, and he was father of many members of the renowned Gipsy Kings. He died in November, 2014. This song, Toringa, can be found on the 2014 album Flores de Mi Corazón.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.