El Chaquetón
Who is El Chaquetón?
José Antonio Díaz Fernández, El Chaquetón, was born in 1946 in Algeciras (Cádiz), into one of the families most devoted to flamenco in the province. His father was the cantaor Flecha de Cádiz and his mother, María Fernández de los Santos, a cantaora and dancer belonging to the Chaqueta dynasty; his maternal grandfather, El Mono, was considered a true encyclopedia of cante. His uncles included Tomás El Chaqueta, a dancer, and Antonio El Chaqueta, a cantaor, and his own brother, Manuel El Flecha, also devoted himself to cante.
With that family heritage it was almost inevitable that he would turn to flamenco art, and he did so from a very young age, cultivating an extremely broad repertoire spanning both serious and festive cantes.
Career
He moved to Madrid at barely twelve, and by fifteen he had already made his artistic debut at the Venta Manzanilla, performing alongside veterans such as Felipe de Triana, Pepe El Culata and Manolo de Huelva, from whom he absorbed the craft. In 1964 he joined the tablao Zambra in Madrid alongside Pericón de Cádiz and Juan Varea, and later toured with companies alongside the dancer Pacita Tomás across Spain and Europe. He also spent a long stretch in Madrid’s tablaos: five years at the Café de Chinitas and one more at the Corral de la Morería.
From the late 1970s he expanded into festivals, peñas and cultural centers, with recitals in Paris and a notable performance at the Sala Olimpia in Madrid in 1982, accompanied on guitar by Enrique de Melchor. In 1980 he won the Enrique El Mellizo award at the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco in Córdoba, and in the following years he took part in events of the Jeunesses Musicales de France, in the Cursos Internacionales de Arte Flamenco of the Cátedra de Flamencología in Jerez (1983), at the Marrakech International Music Festival, and at the IV Bienal de Arte Flamenco de Sevilla, both in 1986.
Palos and discography
His specialty was the pure cantes of Cádiz, particularly the malagueña of Enrique el Mellizo, though he handled cantiñas and virtually the whole range of serious and festive styles with ease. His voice, described as slightly afillá, hoarse and deep, allowed him to work both as accompaniment to dance and as a cante de frente performer, leaving recordings such as one of cantiñas alongside the guitarist Felipe Maya.
Legacy
He died in Madrid on 29 December 2003, a victim of cancer. He is remembered as one of the great performers of the Cádiz tradition, a master who during his lifetime did not always receive the recognition his art deserved. In his honor, a peña on Calle Canarias in Madrid bears his name, keeping alive the memory of a cantaor devoted above all to the purity of El Mellizo’s malagueña.