Little Hands of Silver

According to wikipedia, Picasso said, "That man is of greater worth than I am!"

Known as Manitas de Plata which means "little hands of silver", this flamenco guitarist comes from the same extended family that members of Gypsy Kings also belong. In fact, Tonino Baliardo who is the lead guitarist of Gypsy Kings married his granddaughter. I guess hanging around a genius does make you a genius after all.

This lovely song is known as "Galop de Camargue". From what I read Manitas de Plata was famous for playing every year at the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Gipsy pilgrimage in Camargue, Southern France. So I guess the song is either inspired by this event or was played frequently in it.

On another note I read once that the word "flamenco" is actually derived from Arabic. It came from "fallah mengo = فلاح منجو" which means "escaped peasant". I wonder if subconsciously that is the reason why I love Spanish music especially Flamenco.