Something very important happened in Jerez de la Frontera on May 4, 1930. A boy was born, Antonio Núñez Montoya, with skin as dark as chocolate, which earned him his nickname. Antonio el Chocolate came into the world in the San Mateo neighborhood of Jerez, was raised in Seville where he earned his first pesetas in exchange for fandangos, and was buried in Seville. This is the story of a singer straddling two important flamenco capitals during a period of glorious development of the best classical flamenco singing. In 2001, Chocolate stated in an interview, “I feel Sevillian.”
He left this world 20 years ago, but why do I feel his absence so acutely, and flamenco followers’ apparent indifference impossible to comprehend? The essence of Triana is distilled in him, the Pavón family, the characteristic flavor of the Alameda de Hércules, the smoke-filled back rooms where Chocolate was able to hear legendary singers like Caracol or Vallejo, where there were photos of Pastora and el Pinto. Miguel Acal, journalist and flamenco expert once wrote: “the grace to have been born in Jerez, and the sparkle from having been raised in the Alameda area are divinely mixed in Chocolate’s soul”. Chocolate in turn spoke of historic flamenco figures such as Loco Mateo and Marrurro, and in the weekly radio program of Radio Sevilla, he told us to draw from Alcalá and Utrera, while moderator Antonio Mairena never missed a word. Dancer Manuela Carrasco declared “there has never been, nor do I believe there will ever again be such a voice – he was the best”. When young singers are barely distinguishable from one another, the sound of Chocolate’s voice is always unmistakable. The deceased cantaor Fernando de la Morena considered him “one of the greats, both as a person and artist, never to be repeated, with a style all his own. Those fandangos and siguiriyas, those deep sounds…”
Singing with dignity that reached everyone’s soul to transmit the painful beauty of love and loss.
"That young boy who earned coins for his cantes, would go on to become one of the most revered flamenco singers. He once said “I liked Pepe Marchena’s singing a lot and toured with the company but no, that wasn’t for me.»
Chocolate was not adept with festive forms which he seldom sang, although his faithful friend, guitarist Antonio Carrión sewed the musical phrases together giving coherence. Chocolate left many recordings, but no actual follower in the art. He sang or recorded with Juan Habichuela, Manuel Morao, Manolo Sanlúcar, Melchor de Marchena, Paco Cepero, Pedro Peña and Manolo de Huelva among others.
He was always a singer who knew how to give himself to the art without histrionics, and he was one of the few of his generation who learned listening to the maestros without the help of recordings. Perhaps for this reason we hear the sound of Torre, Tomás, Talega and others without there being imitation.
Chocolate sang everything well, but his soleá, siguiriya and a capella forms were exceptionally good. And if we examine the back of his virtual artist’s permit it also says he was a fine interpreter of fandangos. He lived through the height of fandango popularity, but felt the need to explore more complex forms, in addition to laying out his dense version of taranto. That young boy who earned coins for his cantes, would go on to become one of the most revered flamenco singers. He once said “I liked Pepe Marchena’s singing a lot and toured with the company but no, that wasn’t for me.”
Antonio Núñez Montoya El Chocolate died July XNUMXth, XNUMX.
