And of course they don't come close to
the legendary Silverio either, nor to the veteran Sarneta,
who six years ago led us to believe that if se tried she
could probably still sing. Mercedes was in a really bad
way then (today she isn't exactly in her prime), and thanks
to Chacón, the noted cantaor from Seville, she
was able to offer a concert at the Liceo Rius.
La Serneta
(Foto Alrededor del Mundo)
The years had taken their toll on the
features of the beauty from Jerez, and the surprise of
the audience was evident as they heard the old lady sing
por soleares in a style no longer heard. Those who knew
her at her peak recall her favorite verse:
“Quitarme de que te quiera, (To
give up loving you)
es quitarme la salú, (is to take away my health)
porque a la calla callando, (because without anybody noticing)
mi alma la tienes tú” (you have control of
my soul)
This was when she frequented the palace,
rubbed shoulders with the aristocracy and had disciples
of cante in blue-blooded families like the Medinaceli,
Salamanca, Prim, Yarayabo, Castellones and other families,
and when for singing two evenings in Jerez they paid her
two thousand reales.
Las Silleras
(Foto Orestes Alrededor del Mundo) |
|
Among the best present-day artists are
la Serrana, a truly great cantaora from Seville, Rita
García, who still sings well, Luisa López,
and the bailaoras - the finest without a doubt - las
Macarronas, las Silleras and las Coquineras. There's
bailaor Antonio de la Rosa, el Pichiri, a bailaor de chufla,
in other words performing dance that is analogous to negro
dances, tangos, etc., burlesque but not tasteless clowning
around like what we see these days - a combination of
flamenco, English dance and theatrical, indecent and ridiculous
contortions of the whole body and the whole face (even
the most insignificant muscles of this leap into action),
imported to Spain in shows of couplets and belly dancing.
As for tocaores, they're plentiful and
good. There you have Miguel Borrull, Bautista Pérez,
Paco el Barbero and Rafael
Marín - notable not only as a flamenco guitarist,
but in all genres. An expert in the guitar and an artist
few can match. Paco el de Lucena died not long ago.
The flamenco arts have, without a doubt,
a unique incentive, as does bullfighting.
That's the only way to explain the fact
that there are those who could have lived a trouble-free
life without ever feeling the pain inflicted by poverty,
and yet prefer to lead a wandering existence of one who
lives on what the flamenco arts can afford them, sacrificing
the comforts and the kindness that society might provide
them with.
An example of these is Carlos Cabrera
el Inglés. But he isn't the only one - there is
a multitude of them.
*
Mercedes la Sarneta today lives from
providing clothes on credit for a modest fee, far from
the arts and from her glory days.
"Why did they give you that nickname?"
I asked her.
And between sucking on her cigarette
and puffing smoke she replied,
"Because they say there's a bird
they call sarneta that's real light, and like I was real
jumpy when I was little, ma said to me:
'Wow, she's like a li'l sarneta!
And Sarneta stuck.
ROBERTO DE PALACIO
