El Payo Juan Manuel was born as Juan Manuel Cardona Bonilla in Espartinas, a village in the Spanish province of Sevilla, on October 3, 1941. His family moved to Barcelona in 1947 where El Payo started to sing during traditional festivities. But soon he met his true love: the Rumba Catalana. El Payo started to take guitar lessons. His habit of taking his guitar everywhere earned him the nickname "El Guitarra". Together with some friends, El Payo formed the outfit Juan Manuel Y Sus Rumberos. Since then, El Payo has recorded more than 30 albums. His earlier work, especially Solo, Solo Esta is excellent. Lairo Lairo is still pretty decent, however, in the second half of the seventies his tunes become less interesting.
Side A: Sola, Sola EstaLabel: Discophon (1972)
A side: Rincon de EspanaB Side: Mantequilla Buena
Label: Discophon (1973)
B side: Playas Catalanas
Label: Zartos (1973)
A Side: El ChinitoLabel: Zartos (1975)
