Tribute to Manuel de la Calva: three of the lesser-known hits by the Dúo Dinámico

Today we learned the sad news of the death of Manuel de la Calva, a member of Dúo Dinámico, at the age of 88.

The news of his death was announced by his colleague Ramón Arcusa: "Manolo de la Calva, my soul mate, more than a brother, a companion of a hundred adventures and a thousand songs, has left us today. Don't cry for him, he wouldn't want to. He was the soul of Dúo, always happy, optimistic, positive. Sing with him in this farewell. Thank you for so much, my friend. You are now eternal. Take care of yourself wherever you are. We will miss you very much."

I took this photo of Manuel at a concert in Pontevedra on August 19, 2012. I went to that concert with my family. My parents had a wonderful time, as if they had returned to their youth for a moment. It was, without a doubt, one of the best concerts of that summer. Manuel and Ramón were 75 years old at the time, but they demonstrated an amazing vitality that captivated the large audience.

El Dúo Dinámico was one of the most successful Spanish musical groups in the 1960s. They became famous with great hits such as "Amor de verano" (a song from 1963 that returned to the top 18 years later due to its magnificent appearance in the finale of the series "Verano azul"), "Quince años tiene mi amor", "Esos ojitos negros", "Eres tú" and Perdóname". In 1988 they achieved another hit, "Resistiré", an inspiring song about not giving up in the face of life's difficulties.

For me, Dúo Dinámico is much more than a musical group. I've listened to their songs countless times, and they always bring back fond memories. They've always been one of the groups we listened to the most on family outings. Their songs are intertwined with our lives, like the landscapes we've seen on so many trips. In heaven, they're going to have a wonderful time with Manuel. Rest in peace.

I want to dedicate this post as a tribute to him, and I also want to take this opportunity to encourage you to check out his extensive discography, if you don't already. The Dúo Dinámico had many hits, but some are much less known than others today. However, among those lesser-known songs are some real gems. I'll show you three that I particularly like:

"Balada gitana" (Gypsy ballad) is a 1962 song. Dúo Dinámico had already been playing for four years when they released this song as a single. The lyrics and music are original by Dúo Dinámico. You can read the lyrics here.

"Bailando el Twist" (Dancing the Twist) is a lively dance song from 1963. Interestingly, the song is listed as having been composed by Ray Blum and Phil Coddy, pseudonyms used respectively by Ramón and Manuel. The twist was a rock and roll dance rhythm that had arrived in Spain from the United States in 1962. This song is like an introduction to the twist to the Spanish public. You can read the lyrics here.

"Las hojas verdes" (The green leaves) is a song from 1961. It's a song I particularly like. In this case, the lyrics are from the Spanish group, but the music is not original by Dúo Dinámico: it's a cover of "The Green Leaves of Summer", performed by the American folk group The Brothers Four and featured in the film "The Alamo" (1961). The music was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin (1894-1979), a Ukrainian Jew who emigrated to the US. The lyrics to the original song were by Francis Webster (1907-1984), a famous American lyricist who won three Oscars for as many original songs. You can read the lyrics of the Spanish version here.

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Photos: Elentir.