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January 10, 2023Flamenco at Christmas, a gypsy cultural tradition of celebration
For most families, Christmas is one of the most important times of the year when events and gatherings are organized around food, loved ones and music. The flamenco world at Christmas , as in almost everything, has a very particular way of living these dates, and especially the gypsy people. For many gypsies, flamenco is a way of making a living, but it is also something cultural: it is the backbone of every celebration of the gypsy people, it is a reason for joy to sing and dance among family and friends.
Gypsy Christmas carols
The artists and flamenco enthusiasts enjoy Christmas as the best excuse in the calendar to organize a celebration based on flamenco Christmas carols among family and friends in which there is no lack of brandy, typical Christmas sweets and, above all, carol singing with a repertoire of lyrics specific to these dates that can deal with various topics: some more traditional lyrics speak of the birth of the son of God, others, profane, with lyrics that speak of everyday life, jealousy, cheerful or lighthearted themes and even 'spicy' themes.
Flamenco at Christmas in Granada
Sacromonte and its Christmas flamenco traditions
Sacromonte in Granada, a historic district for flamenco in flamenco in Granadahas had its own traditions of celebrations through family gatherings and popular flamenco Christmas carols.
Account Curro Albaicín that before the floods of 1963when the neighborhood was at its cultural peak in terms of flamenco, families and neighbors would get together to share what little they had. It was a time when they ate more than usual and different food than the rest of the year, so they shared it among friends and loved ones. They were very humble families, but the idea of singing and dancing flamenco carols around a bonfire weeks before and after Christmas Eve filled them with happiness.
They made a break in the celebration to go to the rooster mass, in the Ave Maria or in the Church of the Savior, accompanying the way back and forth of songs and dances with joyful gypsy carols. On Christmas Eve they used to have chickpea stew and cod with tomato for lunch, and at Christmas turkey or chicken. All of this was accompanied by typical Easter sweets, white wine jugs and brandy. Through all these traditions the culture of flamenco at Christmas was introduced.
After the floods, few gypsy families returned to Sacromonte and the neighborhood underwent a cultural change that transformed the lives of its inhabitants, affecting their traditions and customs. Nowadays, Easter is lived in a less intense or emotional way, although zambombas are organized in some events, more thought of as as special flamenco shows These events are more intended as special flamenco shows than as family moments, although they preserve the basis of the flamenco Christmas traditions where we still listen to popular gypsy carols.
Flamenco carols from the Sacromonte of Granada
These are some of the flamenco Christmas carols heard in Sacromonte.
CAROL OF THE ALHAMBRA.
In Real de la Alhambra street
there is a green and 'colorá' flag.
And whoever wants to plan on it,
my 'compare' Antonio goes as captain,
he goes as a captain, he goes as a captain,
and on Real de la Alhambra Street
there is a green and 'colorá' flag.
At one, two and three o'clock in the morning,
San Cristóbal exits through the sea.
Through the sea, through the sea,
with the baby Jesus in her arms
saying My God,
I can't take it anymore!
I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore,
at one o'clock, at two o'clock in the morning
San Cristóbal exits through the sea.
I had an almond tree
flowery and beautiful
that in the month of January
attracts attention.
It attracts attention, it attracts attention,
at one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning,
San Cristóbal exits through the sea.
Through the sea, through the sea,
in Real de la Alhambra Street,
there is a green and 'colorá' flag.
Here you can listen to it.
Las Zambombas de Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, is known in the world of flamenco as the city of compás por bulerías. Jerez also celebrates the culture of flamenco at Christmas with a multitude of zambombas in the streets and in the peñas, crowded with locals and outsiders who want to enjoy the intense way in which the people of Jerez live these dates.
Jerez is the icon of flamenco at Christmas, the epicenter of Christmas flamenco celebrations. The greatest flamenco figures such as 'La Paquera de Jerez' or Fernando Terremoto have performed the most famous flamenco carols from Jerez. This city has been and is a source of inspiration and lyrics of flamenco carols that, as we have mentioned before, many of them do not even refer to the birth of the son of God.
The commercialization of flamenco at Christmas from Jerez to the world
In a process of commercialization, as happened with the zambras of Granada, Jerez is one of the icons of flamenco at Christmas, as it has exported the zambombas around the world through the gypsy carols: Christmas performances are organized in theaters throughout the Spanish geography. Artists such as 'La Macanita', 'María Terremoto' or Luis de Perikin, perform in countless shows that aim to bring the identity of Jerez for Christmas to the rest of the world. We could say that it is not necessary to go to Jerez to live their zambombas, but the reality is that as the streets of Jerez live these dates, it is something that can not be transferred to a theater.
Some of the most important flamenco clubs where you can see the zambombas jerezanas and live the real flamenco at Christmas are: the Peña Luis de la Pica or the Peña Flamenca Tío José de Paula. They can also be seen in squares such as Plaza de la Yerba, Plaza de los Plateros, Plaza de Belen or in the Cruz Vieja.
Flamenco carols of Jerez
Some of the most famous Christmas carols from Jerez.
THE ROADS WERE MADE
The roads were made,
with water, wind and cold,
walked an old man,
very sad and distressed,
Glory be to his blessed mother Victoria,
glory to the newly "born", glory!
They arrived at an inn,
to ask for lodging,
and the ungrateful waiter,
I would go and deny it to him, glory be!
to his blessed mother Victoria,
glory to the newly "born", glory!
I do not provide lodging,
I do not provide lodging,
at two o'clock at night,
he pregnant woman, glory!
to his blessed mother Victoria,
glory to the newly "born", glory!
If you bring money,
the whole house is yours,
but if you don't bring it,
there is no inn at all, Gloria!
to his blessed mother Victoria,
glory to the newly "born", glory!
The Virgin upon hearing that,
she fainted,
and St. Joseph tells him,
raises beloved wife, glory!
to his blessed mother Victoria,
glory to the newly "born", glory!
And from there they left,
to a collected portal,
and between the ox and the mule,
the divine verb was born, glory!
to his blessed mother Victoria,
glory to the newly "born", glory!
The mule growls at him,
and the ox is lowering him down,
and the little Baby Jesus,
He's asleep, Gloria!
to his blessed mother Victoria,
glory to the newly "born", glory!
In this link you can see some of the most famous ones.