The considered Pope of the Flamenco was, along with Pastora Pavón, the greatest promoter of La Serneta's soleás. Aside from this, he didn't hesitate to help the singer and countrywoman in times of difficulty and even organized a tribute to her in Madrid. This is attested by our colleague Manuel Bohórquez in his article from the Gold Series in expoflamenco and I recommend it again:
Mercedes la Sarneta or the Queen of Soleá – Archive expoflamenco
Don Antonio Chacón's admiration for the Serneta must have been such that its different variants represent 90% of his soleá recordings. Between 1909 (for Odeón with Juan Gandulla Habichuela) and 1913 (for Gramophone and again for Odeón with Ramón Montoya on guitar), he recorded 10 forms associated with Mercé Fernández Vargas on slate, out of a total of 11 he recorded. For our study, they can be broken down as follows:
4 of the preparation style (the one numbered as 1) of the type 'I was stone and lost my center'; although Don Antonio uses other well-known letters such as 'Just by looking at you' o 'Evils that time brings'.
2 of the short Jerez transitional style (the one numbered 3) of the type 'I never failed to obey my law'
2 of the Triana transition style (the one numbered 4) of the type 'Nor will any hardships pass through you.' Chacón not only records it with these lyrics on both occasions but also sets it as a model for many of her followers.
1 of the short Jerez style (numbered 5) with an Utrera accent of the type 'Since I'm yours' that the Jerez native records with the lyrics 'She confessed herself.'
1 of the brave Trianero style (numbered as 7) of the type 'Early in the morning' but with the impressive handwriting 'Who could penetrate them / evils that time brings'
In view of the above, a cornerstone to bring us closer to the legacy of La Serneta is undoubtedly Don Antonio Chacón. A very valid transmitter of the cantes of that since he would hear it in person and his mold was bequeathed to successive generations. If the singer was a great revolutionary in cantes like the Malaga, the Granada or the Levante, the cantes, such as soleás and siguiriyas, were very respectful of inherited forms. Hence his reliability as a witness in this case.
An article in preparation by our summer course 2025 (Single day, July 25) which I remind you again in this link:
