Lole y Manuel

Lole y Manuel was a Spanish Romani musical duo which composed and performed innovative flamenco music. Dolores Montoya Rodríguez (1954) and Manuel Molina Jiménez (1948-2015) are Lole and Manuel. This duo was formed in 1972.

This couple was the first exponent of flamenco music aimed at a non-exclusively flamenco audience. They were one of the first precursors of the musical stream called "New flamenco".

Lole and Manuel were married, and were a professional couple. Manuel Molina and Dolores Montoya are members of Romani families of artistic descent. Manuel was the son of Manuel Molina Acosta, better known as "El Encajero", who was a professional guitar player. Lole is the daughter of flamenco singer and dancer Antonia Rodríguez Moreno, better known as "La Negra", and her father was the dancer Juan Montoya. Their daughter is the singer Alba Molina.[1]

Their groundbreaking first album Nuevo Día fused traditional Spanish flamenco Romani with Arabic rhythms and styles. The music is recognized for the emotive, yet sweet voice of Lole Montoya and the operatic, flashy guitar of Manuel.

The music of Lole and Manuel is present in the cinema. Films as significant as "Manuela" by Gonzalo García Pelayo, "Flamenco" by Carlos Saura, "Siesta" by Mary Lambert, as well as in the soundtrack of "Kill Bill: Volume 2" by Quentin Tarantino.

Their 1975 track, "Tu Mirá" (“your look” or “your gaze”, "Mirá" being a non-standard form of "mirada", gaze or look, undergoing elision of the 'd' and then a merger of the double 'a'), which features one of Montoya's most emotive vocal performances, accompanied by a large choir and an epic organ (in addition to Manuel's guitar), is included on the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 2.

Now, Lole has completed the details of her new album with the guitarist from Jerez de la Frontera, Diego Del Morao.

On May 19, 2015, Manuel Molina died at the age of 67 at his home in San Juan de Aznalfarache, Spain.[2]