Manuel Soto Loreto, known as Manuel Torre or Manuel Torres (1878 – 1933), was a Romani (Kalo)

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

singer.

Beginning

Torre was born in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, in the neighbourhood of San Miguel, which together with the neighbourhood of Santiago, is a traditional centre of flamenco in Jerez. One of the most representative singers of Jerez, he was influenced by singers Manuel Molina, El Marrurro (from Jerez) and Enrique el Mellizo (from

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

). He developed his career in the cafés cantante of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. In his turn, he was one of the main influences in the work of singers like La Niña de los Peines, Antonio Mairena or Manuel Agujetas.

Career

Torre was an honored guest, singing the siguiriyas, at the Concurso de Cante Jondo held at the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. This 1922 music festival was organized by Manuel de Falla to celebrate the flamenco arts.Álvarez Caballero, ''El cante flamenco'' (Madrid: Alianza Editorial 1994) at 212, 215-216. An encyclopedic singer, he excelled in

siguiriyas ''Siguiriyas'' (; also ''seguiriyas'', ''siguerillas'', ''siguirillas'', ''seguidilla gitana'', etc.) are a form of flamenco music in the cante jondo category. This deep, expressive style is among the most important in flamenco. Unlike other pa ...

soleá ''Soleares'' (plural of ''soleá'', ) is one of the most basic forms or '' palos'' of Flamenco music, probably originating among the Calé Romani people of Cádiz or Seville in Andalusia, the most southern region of Spain. It is usually acc ...

, saetas, and fandangos. However, he rarely entered the recording studio, and his recordings are of irregular quality:

The flamenco fans who have only listened to him in recordings only know his shadow, because he made all those recordings in a state of unconsciousness. (Mairena 1976)

He died in

Discography

''Historic Recordings / Grabaciones históricas 1909-1931'', Empresa Pública de Gestión, 1997 (Complete recordings)

Sources

ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: ''La discoteca ideal del flamenco'', Editorial Planeta, Barcelona, 1995 MAIRENA, Antonio: ''Confesiones de Antonio Mairena'', Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, 1976

External links

Manuel Torre
1878 births 1933 deaths Singers from Andalusia Flamenco singers People from Jerez de la Frontera Spanish male singers Spanish Romani people {{spain-singer-stub