Antonio Chacón (1869–1929) was a Spanish

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

singer antaor Chacón was born in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

, Cádiz Province. He began earning a living by performing flamenco around 1884. He toured Andalucia with his two friends, the Molina brothers - dancer Antonio Molina, and guitarist Javier Molina. He was later hired by Silverio Franconetti for his café in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. He was noted for his skill in singing the cartagenera, malagueñas, granaína 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 performed as Chacón's accompanist for over a decade until the early 1920s. Another great guitarist, Sabicas, then accompanied him, early in the latter's career. In 1922 at Granada he participated in the celebrated Concurso de Cante Jondo. 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 List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

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