No one had forgotten him. Spread the word. Very regularly, on the terraces of Thionvillois cafes, we inquire about Manolo. Yes from him, the man with the brown guitar decked out with two-three-four strings, it was depending. Always quick to play a festive tune. For his audience. At home, no riffs even incipient at his fingertips. Just caresses, back and forth on his instrument mixed with admittedly approximate words. Whatever, his success was elsewhere.
The man had disappeared from radar. Speculation about him was rife, beware of rumours… The truth is that, in private, the most gipsy of street singers was fighting the disease. Deprived of the stage, he had withdrawn from the city where he had officiated for years, surrounded by his family. Far from the spotlight. From the humidity of Moselle summers.
This July 22, 2022, the news fell. The septuagenarian breathed his last in Thionville. Land he charmed, with his temperament, his taste for popular song, his improbable guitar throws. Acrobatic shows at the end of which he always asked for a “ch’tite” piece. For his performance. Hat pay as they say. Quite a number the Manolo.
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“It’s gotta be sunny, it’s hot! »
At the announcement of his death, at the age of 73, the native of Puget-Thénier (Alpes-Martimes), Georges Démétrio in the city, triggered a wave of emotion, widely relayed on social networks and in conversations at the hour of the petit noir or the midday mousse. Strangers, nostalgic for the time when they gave this little bearded man in an XXL suit a few small coins in exchange for “It’s sunny, it’s hot!” » personalized, from a very singular cover of Dalida, or from pieces chosen in an Italian or a Spanish not always in line with the original version. “La Bamba”, “Y Viva España”, “Lasciatemi Cantare”, “Gigi l’amoroso”… so many titles that invariably ended with a punchy “Olé! “.
He was like that Manolo! Today, he is at the gates of posterity. From up there, where the musicos have passed the guitar to the left, it will continue to travel through time. The generations he was able to touch will not fail to recall that one day, in Thionville, a jolly fellow had the gift of making them smile.
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