Zambombas de Jerez

The zambomba began as a homely Christmas custom of Jerez and its countryside. According to the Junta de Andalucía, it was rooted in communal living spaces, the patios de vecinos of the city and the workers' quarters of the cortijos, where neighbours with close ties gathered in the weeks before Christmas to sing around a fire. The instruments were whatever was at hand: frying pans, cooking pots, lids and, of course, the zambomba itself. Women held the leading role, knowing the verses best and leading the singing and the dancing in the middle of the circle.

In recent decades the gatherings have moved from private courtyards to peñas, brotherhoods, schools, bars and public squares, and in Jerez the repertoire has absorbed flamenco guitar, the cajón and flamenco dance. On 9 December 2015 the Andalusian government listed "la Zambomba, en Arcos de la Frontera y Jerez de la Frontera" as a Bien de Interés Cultural, an activity of ethnological interest (Decreto 503/2015, published in the BOJA on 14 December 2015), arguing that an oral tradition so exposed to commercialisation needed safeguarding. Its success has since forced the city to regulate it: each autumn Jerez publishes a bando that sets the season and the rules.

Expect to stand, sing and clap. A good zambomba is a crowd packed into a square or a bar around a fire or a table of sweets, someone strikes up a carol, and the whole circle answers with palmas, panderetas and the deep rub of the zambomba. Songs are short and well known locally, so the chorus comes round fast, and every few verses somebody is pushed into the middle to dance por bulerías. Brotherhood zambombas in the squares start in the afternoon and are full of families; the ones in tabancos and peñas get louder and later. You will smell wood smoke and anise, and you will be offered pestiños, sherry and anisette. On December weekends the centre is packed, so pick one or two places and settle in rather than trying to see everything.

By air: Jerez airport (XRY) is just north of the city, with a local train stop that links it to the centre in a few minutes. Seville airport is about an hour away by road.

By train: Media Distancia trains connect Seville with Jerez in about an hour, and Cercanías trains reach Cádiz in around 40 minutes. From Madrid, take the high-speed train to Seville and change, or a direct Madrid–Cádiz service that stops in Jerez.

By car: The AP-4 and A-4 link Jerez with Seville. Parking in the historic centre is scarce in December; use a public car park on the edge of the centre and walk.

Are zambombas free? Most are. Neighbourhood, brotherhood and bar zambombas cost nothing to join; you pay for your drinks and sweets, which often fund the brotherhood. Large bodega productions are ticketed.

Is the zambomba UNESCO heritage? No. It is a Bien de Interés Cultural, a protection granted by the Junta de Andalucía in December 2015 to the zambombas of Jerez and Arcos de la Frontera.

Do I need to know flamenco? No. Listen first, join the palmas once you can follow the beat, and leave space in the middle of the circle for the people who live the tradition.

When should I go? Weekend afternoons and evenings between late November and 24 December, especially around the 6 and 8 December holidays. Check the authorised list on the council's Christmas portal for the day you choose.

How should I behave? Do not talk over the singing, buy a drink where the bar funds the event, skip the flash and ask before filming singers close up.