Manolo de la Calva, one half of the Dynamic Duo, dies at 88.

Manolo de la Calva, a member of Dúo Dinámico, has passed away at the age of 88. His partner Ramón Arcusa was the one who broke the news on social media: “My soul mate, more than a brother, a companion of a hundred adventures and a thousand songs, has left us today,” he said on X. “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 eternal. Take care of yourself wherever you are. We will miss you very much,” he wrote.

"We're devastated," Arcusa told this newspaper when contacted following the news. Manolo and Ramón have been friends for seventy years. When we talk about El Dúo Dinámico, we're talking about the oldest band in Spanish popular music that remained active until very recently, an artistic duo that has been an essential part of the emotional soundtrack of not one, not two, but many generations of Spaniards.

After meeting in 1956, when they were just twenty years old, while working as draftsmen at the Elizalde SA aircraft engine factory in Barcelona, ​​they joined forces for the first time to liven up the company Christmas party in 1958.

They already frequented the city's jazz club Hondo to participate in jam sessions, but their official debut took place just a week after their recital at the factory, in the studios of Radio Barcelona, ​​where they presented themselves as Dynamic Boys to a host who rejected the Anglicism and baptized them with the name they would keep (almost) forever.

They made their recording debut with Odeon Gramophone (EMI) with two EPs released in 1959, featuring the songs "Linda Muñeca" and "Recordándote." Their cover of Neil Sedaka's "Oh Carol" was also well received, but the following year, the release of "Fifteen Years Has My Love" launched them into stardom, aided by its inclusion on the soundtrack of the film "Anchor Button," in which they starred.

Rock'n'roll had not yet exploded in Spain, but they dared to present it to the Spanish people in a sweetened form with 'Rock de la alegría' in 1961, and seeing that the term 'twist' was more widely accepted, they published their legendary 'Bailando el twist' in 1962 after meeting its very inventor, Chubby Checker, when they opened for him at Luna Park in Buenos Aires.

It was during this time that they began performing in the country's best venues, such as the Madrid-based Imperator, founded by businessman Jesús Nuño de la Rosa, who would become a close friend of the duo. It was during these years, the first half of the 1960s, that their dominance was absolute, with songs that became instant classics such as "Perdóname," "Amor de verano," "Canción triste," and "Esos ojitos negros."

The second half of the decade, with the emergence of a new trend more oriented toward ensembles, caught them somewhat off guard, unsure of where to go next. So much so that in 1968 they renamed themselves "Manolo y Ramón," without managing to maintain their initial success. But four years later, thinking their moment had passed, they split up to dedicate themselves exclusively to composing for other artists, especially Julio Iglesias.

[NEWS IN EXPANSION]