Aging Spanish flamenco artist Manuel Molina gives sensitive, forceful expression to the common things of life: singing with the voice one has, learning trust and mistrust, going without food, and enjoying the company of friends.

In a scene from a 20-minute movie by Italian-American filmmaker and musician Tao Ruspoli below, Molina talks with a companion about the community of friends and family that he reveled and took comfort in during his many years. “Hope is fading,” Molina says in a crowded bar. The pal responds with a finger wag, “I don’t think there is any hope.” Molina concedes, “Every day less, but listen, occasionally there is something, and thank God. But in the old days it was at any moment, and in the old days, a watermelon was enough to give a party. You didn’t need a lot of money. … The bar was enough, and you’d go for three days singing and dancing and crying and laughing.”

The friend interrupts again. “And feeling,” he says. “And learning.”

Molina once more: “And you went home filled with happiness. And this money can’t buy.”

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

ruspoli:

 Your support is crucial...

As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.

Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.

Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
In this Article:
#music#spain