José Manuel Soto
Who is José Manuel Soto?
José Manuel Soto is a Spanish singer-songwriter born in Seville in 1961, the fourth of nine siblings in a middle-class family with rural roots. He lived in Seville until age thirteen, when his parents decided to send him to boarding school; back in the city, he enrolled in several university degrees — law, geography and history, physical education — without completing any of them.
He is known throughout the Spanish-speaking world for his melodic songs and “rumbitas” performed with his characteristic Andalusian accent, a style that blends copla influences with popular rumba.
Career
His musical career kicked off almost by chance in the summer of 1984, when he and some friends set up a beach bar in El Puerto de Santa María, where he sang and played guitar to entertain customers. The contacts he made that summer encouraged him to leave Seville and move to Madrid to devote himself fully to music. His first big hit, and likely the song for which he is best remembered, was “Por ella.” In 1989 he placed third at the OTI Festival with the song “Como una luz.”
Over more than three decades he has released numerous albums, including “De mi ribera” (1986), “¿Quién eres tú?” (1987), “Por ella” (1988), “Me enamoré de una bruja” (1989), “Déjate querer” (1990), “Tormenta de verano” (1992), “Grandes éxitos” (1998), “Rumba al corazón” (2001), “Al son de Machín” (2002), a tribute to Cuban singer Antonio Machín, and “Piedad para tanto amor” (2005). Besides singing, he has appeared on various Canal Sur programs and on a television reality show. Since 2004 he has lived in Las Vegas, where he has performed at the city’s casinos.
Notable discography
His repertoire blends rumbitas and melodic ballads with strong Andalusian roots, with “Por ella” as his most popular song, alongside tracks like “Como una luz” and “De mi ribera,” which defined his style from the 1980s onward.