Manu Chao (born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on June 21, 1961 in Paris, France) is a French-born singer an political activist of Spanish (Galician-Basque) origin. He sings mainly in French, Spanish and English and occasionally in a number of other languages. Chao began his musical career with Hot Pants, a French band that combined several musical styles and languages. The musician then founded the interracial band Mano Negra with several friends in 1987, becoming a solo artist after it disbanded.