The great Manolete, Manuel Santiago Maya, passed away on September 12, 2022.

I have often wondered if the teacher with the bastón in that first flamenco video I saw that called me to this art form was Manolete, as he was so well known for his bastón.

I suppose I’ll never know for sure as I’ve not been able to track down that documentary.

In Manolete’s honor,

Here are five incredible videos of him dancing followed by one of him teaching:

Alegrías:

In Los Tarantos with the Ballet Nacional de España:

Farruca:

Alegrías:

Por Fiesta:

With his iconic bastón:

I highly recommend the documentary, Dawn In Granada. It follows Manolete and his daughter, Judea, and Jaime de Anda and his daughter, Marina Heredia demonstrating how the flamenco art form is passed down from generation to generation. A friend recorded it for us soon after it was released, and I watched that VHS tape 🙈 over and over again. Perhaps it’s still around here somewhere…

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Cover photo by Dolo Iglesias on Unsplash