Album Notes

La Puente, California - the year is 1971, and a married couple from Panama has just arrived in search of a better life than the one they left behind. Even though times get rough, the couple sticks it out and in the process, give birth to three children over the next 10 years. The last child would grow up to become the artist known as Manolo – and though as the youngest there was the least amount of pressure on him, Manolo still had the burning desire to be successful, even at a young age. His parents had successfully instilled a sense of diligence and individuality in young Manolo, and those two pieces of a larger work ethic would reappear again and again over the years. His parents had come to America on a quest to live the American dream – a dream they passed down to their children.
At the impressionable age of 15, bored with the slow pace and uninteresting materials that fell short of stimulating his considerable intelligence, Manolo struck out and decided to follow the one thing that he knew he could invest the God-given intelligence and skill he carried around inside him – music. Manolo then set out to craft his persona and fulfilled the destiny his parents had laid out for him; a career was born. He formed a group called Grandos that gained steam and popularity over the next seven years, and though that group ultimately split up, the skill and experienced Manolo gained over those years would become the crucial elements that would late define his solo career. Manolo would strike out on his own, linking up with two friends, J. Knotts and A.NINO Curiel to craft what would be the catalyst for the explosion that would ignite his career. This untitled project shifted and mutated and evolved into what would ultimately become Manolo’s debut album and also resulted in the creation of Quiet Storm Records.