with many influences, the musicians of la mano create a peculiar sound, a rock-salsa-ra-reggae-rap cocktail which they baptize patchanka. manu chao, who writes lyrics, gives to the patchanka a more personal definition: a popular dance with apache lyrics and chorizo spirit. the band starts touring across france in october 1987 and rapidly establishes a solid reputation. a few months later, when the second record putas fever is released, the success is obvious. tracks sung in french, spanish or arabic, pas assez de toi, king kong five or sidi hbibi are immediate hits. after a long live-cruise in 1992 along the south american coasts, la mano negra gets back to france and separates in 1994. its hard to tell the impact of la mano negra across french and spanish speaking countries, with as many particular experiences that people lived during their tours.
