Niño Ricardo
Who is Niño Ricardo?
Manuel Serrapi Sánchez, known artistically as Niño Ricardo, was born in Seville in 1904. He trained by absorbing the best of the three most outstanding guitarists who preceded him: from Ramón Montoya he took the harmonies and arpeggios, from Javier Molina the keys to accompanying cante, and from Manolo de Huelva the compás and special feel for playing bulerías. On that solid foundation he gradually developed a style of his own that did not fully come together until well into his artistic maturity, around the age of forty.
Career
He became the guitarist most sought after by the great singers of his time, accompanying among others La Niña de los Peines, Pepe Pinto, Torre, el Gloria and Escacena, and he also appeared in several films. His work moved naturally between accompaniment and solo concert performance, two facets in which he left a deep mark: he always sought a balanced dialogue between voice and guitar, with neither part overshadowing the other.
Style and discography
His playing is described as the meeting point between the classical guitar of traditional flamenco and the already more modern sensibility of contemporary guitar, with special attention to the exact intensity of each falseta rather than mere technical display. Although the details of his specific recordings have survived less well than his influence, his way of playing became fixed as an essential reference for every guitarist who came after him.
Legacy
Niño Ricardo died in Seville in 1972, leaving behind a school that made him one of the most imitated guitarists in the history of flamenco. Seville paid him tribute with a statue in the Plaza del Cristo de Burgos, a recognition of a figure whose shadow continues to grow larger with the passing decades.