Manolo Caracol was one of the pioneer singers of Spanish music in the 20th century. Born in Seville on July 9, 1909 under the name of Manuel Ortega Juárez, he is considered one of the greatest exponents of flamenco and one of those responsible for taking it to a new level, innovating with the incorporation of pianos and orchestras in his songs. Manolo died in a traffic accident in 1973, and 51 years later the family lost a member again.
Many sources report this Tuesday the death of Luisa Ortega, daughter of Caracol and Luisa Gómez Junquera, at the age of 92. The tonadillera has died in the town of Almendralejo, where she had settled in the last years of her life. She was born in Seville on August 25, 1931, and soon demonstrated that she had inherited the skills of her parents, which would make her a renowned figure.
Ortega trained as a tonadillera and cantaora in what is known as Casa de los Pavones, in the Sevillian neighborhood of Alameda de Hércules. She would also join the academy of the pianist and dancer Eloísa Albéniz, who a few years later would end up becoming her mother-in-law. Her debut occurred in 1951, after Caracol started a joint show with her daughter after separating from her partner at that time: the Faraona, Lola Flores.
The Copla Nueva, by the trio Quintero, León and Quiroga, was the father’s choice, which premiered at the Teatro Calderón in Madrid. Hence Luisa’s performance of ¡Ay, pena, penita!, her first song and one of the most remembered in his repertoire. It would be six years later, in 1957, when she married the flamenco pianist and composer Arturo Pavón, starting a series of shows that would expand her popularity.
In the sixties he published his first notable LP, Evolución flamenca, which would be added to Canta Luisa Ortega in ’69. All of them were in the company of Arturo Pavón and with various arrangements. On her personal level, Luisa had three daughters: the dancers Soraya and Jordana, and the singer Salomé Pavón. Caracol’s death in ’73 gradually extinguished Ortega’s career, only making subsequent sporadic appearances on Canal Sur and Antena 3.
Before learning of his death, Jorge Cadaval of Los Morancos had already worked on preparing a charitable tribute to his figure. This will take place on March 12 at the Alameda Theater in Seville. The event will feature prominent names such as Aurora Vargas, Tomasa La Macanita, Angelita Montoya, Lela Soto, José de la Tomasa, Vicente Soto and Jesús Méndez, among many others.
