Manitas de PlataFlamenco guitarist Manitas de Plata, who sold nearly 100 million records worldwide and broke boundaries for gypsy musicians, has died in southern France aged 93.
De Plata died in a retirement home in Montpellier early yesterday surrounded by his extended family, his great-nephew, Ricao Bissiere said.
Bissiere called him a “great guitarist and a beautiful man who opened the doors for gypsy music”. De Plata sold around 93 million records in a career that spanned more than half a century. Despite acquiring a fortune as one of France’s best-selling recording artists, he died practically penniless − spending his fortune on “roulette, fancy cars, going out and beautiful women”, according to Bissiere. “He loved life. He was a character,” Bissiere added.
De Plata was born Ricardo Baliardo in a caravan in southern France in 1921 to a French gypsy family, and first mastered the guitar at the age of nine, without even being able to read music. He went on to wow crowds with his flamenco strumming in French Riviera cafes, watched by artists Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, writer Jean Cocteau and actress Brigitte Bardot.
Picasso once exclaimed “that man is of greater worth than I am!” when he heard him at Arles in 1964 and drew on his guitar. As his talent became clear, he changed to his recording name, Manitas de Plata, meaning ‘little hands of silver’ in Spanish.
He was a legendary ladies’ man and de Plata himself once admitted he did not know how many children he had fathered in his life, thought to be more than 20. The guitarist was a strong influence on the Gipsy Kings.
His funeral will take place in Montpellier on Saturday.