Zambomba de Jerez
One of the intangible heritage elements that most identify Christmas in Jerez and Arcos de la Frontera are the Zambombas, that are celebrated in neighbourhoods and rural villages before Christmas Eve. They consist of family, friends and/or neighbours meetings around the warmth of a bonfire to enjoy an evening of Christmas carols and songs, eating pestiños (honey fritters) and buñuelos (fritters), as well as other traditional dishes, and local wine or aniseed. They can be either among families, neighbours or institutional celebrations, organised by local brotherhoods and fraternities, flamenco clubs, bars, etc.
They are so popular that their geographical scope has spread from the Jerez countryside to Puerto de Santa María, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Seville and even Madrid, and in some cases they are used as commercial or promotional attractions for heritage and tourism, that is why the participation of their agents contributes to oral transmission and generational continuity.
Since 2015, the zambomba of Jerez has been declared an an element of Cultural Interest, as it is considered “one of the Christmas cultural expressions of greatest ethnological interest in the autonomous community”.
Historical notes
In the Jerez countryside, in the rural areas, the participants themselves tell us how in the mid-20th century it was customary that, on the eve of 24 December, the different families living in the farmhouses and vineyards in the area would visit each other, often they used to travel several kilometres, bringing with them a bottle of anisette, punch or sweet wine, homemade sweets and the various objects that served as musical instruments, such as the zambomba (hand drum), the almirez (metallic mortar), relieve-decorated bottles and some pot lids to sing and dance and have a good time.
In the cortijos (farmhouses), two or three families used to live as permanent workers (foreman, shepherds, etc.). The women of these families would come together and each one agreed to make a sweet, mainly buñuelos and pestiños and also polvorones (kind of shortbread) to offer them when their relatives arrived.
During the following days it was likely that the families of the farmhouse visited would return the visit. In general, the seasonal labourers, who lived in the houses of labourers during the working season, returned home during the Christmas season, as it was not harvesting time. Many of them brought with them the traditions of their towns of origin, many of which were located in the mountains of Cádiz, where on Christmas Eve and Easter Day the custom was to bring out the sweets typical of the season, mainly freshly baked fritters and some liqueur, to offer them to anyone who wanted to come and share a good time, singing Christmas carols and songs.
For their part, the neighbours of the town centre would gather in the common courtyard of their houses. The picón (vegetal charcoal) bonfire gave rise to neighbours and relatives forming a circle around it to sing and dance.
Some older neighbours remember the justle and bustle during those nights, from the beginning of November, from one house to another and from one courtyard to another. Around the bonfire, the ambience would build up and music would emerge almost spontaneously.

Zambomba de la hermandad del Cristo de la Expiración. Photo: Eva Cote Montes. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Zambomba de la peña flamenca Tío José de Paula. Photo: Eva Cote Montes. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Zambomba de la AAVV La Muralla. Photo: Eva Cote Montes. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Zambomba flamenca. Andalucía Turismo y Deporte. www.andalucia.org
Vive Andalucía. Zambomba Flamenca / The Popular Zambomba flamenca [Video file]