Mercedes Fernández Vargas, known as La Serneta, was a 19th-century cantaora from Utrera whose soleares — prized for their unusually complex, winding melodic lines — became one of the most influential and widely imitated branches of the entire soleá tradition. She predates commercial recording, so her voice survives only through the singers, including Tomás Pavón and La Niña de los Peines, who carried her compositions into the 20th century.