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Manu Chao (born June 21, 1961 in Paris; real name
Jose-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao; also occasionally
credited as Oscar Tramor) is a France|French Latin
music|Latin folk music|folk singer.

Chao's parents were Spain|Spanish - or to be more
precise, his mother is Basque people|Basque and
his father, writer Ramón Chao, is Galicia
(Spain)|Galician -, but moved to Paris to escape
Francisco Franco's dictatorship (which lasted
until the dictator's death in 1975). Manu Chao
thus spent his childhood near Paris.

Manu Chao was a well-known member of the Parisian
alternative music scene, in bands such as the Hot
Pants (French band)|Hot Pants and Los Carayos
(French band)|Los Carayos.
In 1987, Chao, his brother Antoine Chao and their
cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano
Negra (band)|Mano Negra. Mano Negra met with
success in France first with the hit single Mala
vida, then toured South America. The band split
circa 1995.

He sings in French language|French, Spanish
language|Spanish, Arabic language|Arabic,
Portuguese language|Portuguese, English
language|English, and Wolof language|Wolof, often
mixing them in the same song. Although he is one
of the world's largest selling artists, he is not
well-known in the English-speaking world.

His music has many influences: rock and roll|rock,
French chanson, Spanish-American Salsa
(music)|Salsa, Reggae, Ska and Algerian raï.
These influences were obtained from immigrants in
France, his Iberian relations, and foremost his
travels in Mesoamerica as a wandering nomad
following the disbanding of Mano Negra. Many of
Chao's lyrics are about love, living in ghettos
and immigration, and often carry a left-wing
politics|left-wing message.  He has many followers
among the European left and the anti-globalization
movement, though some resent his being part of the
music establishment.   

==Discography==
See Hot Pants (French band)|Hot Pants, Los Carayos
(French band)|Los Carayos and Mano Negra
(band)|Mano Negra for earlier recordings.
===Albums===
*Clandestino (1998)
*Proxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) (see also
List of Madrid metro stations)
*Radio Bemba Sound System (live album) (2002)
*Sibérie m'était contéee sic, 2004

===Singles===
*Bongo Bong (1999)
*Clandestino (2000)
*Me gustas tu (2001)
*Merry Blues (2001)
*Mr. Bobby (2002)

==Manu Chao song==
In 2003, the punk rock band Les Wampas, founded in
1983 had their first hit with the song Manu Chao,
whose chorus translates into: "If I had Manu
Chao's wallet, I'd go on holidays at least to the
Congo... If I had Louise
Attaque's bank account, I'd go on
holidays at least until Easter."

Didier Wampas declared he was critical of the
attitude of certain artists (Manu Chao, Noir
Désir) who, while showing themselves critical of
the system, make a very good living out of it.

==External links==
* http://www.manuchao.net/ Official homepage
* http://www.6pft.de/ Fansite with interactive
flash movie
*
http://217.126.124.205/AudioKat/result/artistas.as
p?aid=00000075 Manu Chao on AudioKat