Antonio Chacón (1869–1929) was a Spanish

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

singer antaor Chacón was born in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

Cádiz Province Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, w ...

. He began earning a living by performing flamenco around 1884. He toured

Andalucia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

with his two friends, the Molina brothers - dancer Antonio Molina, and guitarist Javier Molina. He was later hired by

Silverio Franconetti Silverio Franconetti y Aguilar, also known simply as Silverio (June 10, 1831 – May 30, 1889) was a singer and the leading figure of the period in flamenco history known as The Golden Age, which was marked by the creation and definition of ...

for his café in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. He was noted for his skill in singing the cartagenera, malagueñas,

granaína Granaína () is a flamenco style of singing and guitar playing from Granada. It is a variant of the Granada fandangos. It was originally danceable, but now has lost its rhythm, is much slower, and is usually only sung or played as a guitar solo, r ...

and media granaína, which earned him the popular title of "Don". According to Fernando el de Triana, he was so accomplished that all of the most successful ''cantaores'' (singers) performing with him renounced their right of seniority and allowed Chacón to perform last, because the audience would simply leave when he finished. Had they not preceded him, they would have been performing to an empty hall. He performed with many of the best performers of his era. The great guitarist

Ramón Montoya Ramón Montoya (November 2, 1879, Madrid, Spain – July 20, 1949, Madrid, Spain), Flamenco guitarist and composer. Born into a family of Gitano (Romani) cattle traders, Ramón Montoya used earnings from working in the trade to purchase his first g ...

performed as Chacón's accompanist for over a decade until the early 1920s. Another great guitarist,

Sabicas Sabicas (proper name: Agustín Castellón Campos) (16 March 1912 – 14 April 1990) was a Spanish flamenco guitarist of Romani origin. Biography Sabicas was born in Pamplona, Spain, and began playing guitar at the age of five and made his perfor ...

, then accompanied him, early in the latter's career. In 1922 at Granada he participated in the celebrated

Concurso de Cante Jondo El Concurso del Cante Jondo (Contest of the Deep Song) was a fiesta of flamenco arts, music, song, and dance, held in Granada in 1922. Conceived and initiated by composer Manuel de Falla, it enjoyed early and strong support from the poet Federico ...

. Chacón was given the place of honor, presiding over the judges of this flamenco contest. For many the singer Chacón remains "el mejor de todos los tiempos" (the best of all time).Ángel Álvarez Caballero, El cante flamenco (Madrid: Alianza Editorial 1994) at 216 (Concurso), 191 (quote). He died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

References

External links

Antonio Chacón biography and records
1869 births 1929 deaths People from Jerez de la Frontera Flamenco singers Singers from Andalusia 19th-century Spanish male singers {{spain-singer-stub