2008 CHRISTMAS FLAMENCO
“Peace and art”
Flamenco-world.com, December 2008
Zambombas
are now sprinkling every nook and cranny of the flamenco
city of Jerez. To the warm sound of the Christmas carol
por bulerías in its most popular acceptation, circles
of neighbors sing around the fire. The scene is repeated
every Christmas, making flamenco the soundtrack of this
celebration of a religious but at the same time festive
nature. Over the last few years, the phenomenon has been
spreading and there is news
of zambombas in cities such as Almería, Barcelona
and Bilbao. Of course, the most famous one took place on
December 6th at the Teatro Villamarta in Jerez, organized
by the Peña El Garbanzo and directed this year by
Juan Zarzuela.
Christmas carols. Frame from
DVD 'Flamenco',
by Carlos Saura |
But the true flavor continues to be concentrated
in squares such as that of San Miguel, in peñas,
in bars, and of course, in houses. Each person’s home,
no matter where he or she lives, can borrow those rhythms,
those coplas and that ‘toom-toom’ of the zambomba.
It isn’t that flamenco’s discography is very
prolific in Christmas recordings, but it is worthwhile to
listen to and have ready to play on Christmas Eve –
together with cakes and eau-de-vie - albums like ‘Calle
del Aire’ by Estrella Morente, ‘Nochebuena
gitana con Camarón y Paco de Lucía’,
‘Así canta nuestra tierra en Navidad’
with Carmen Linares, José Menese and Manuel Morao
& Gitanos de Jerez, and any of the three volumes of
‘Villancicos flamencos’ recovered from the slate
records by now historic cantaores such as Manuel Torre and
El Gloria.
And perhaps by listening to ‘Los
caminos se hicieron’, ‘En el portal de Belén’
and ‘Los pelegrinitos’, the inspiration can
be found to write letters to the Three Wise Men or to Santa
Claus. Standing out on the list of possible flamenco
gifts this year, together with the now traditional shawls,
guitars and box drums, is the special ‘Reencuentro’
box set by Camarón, the new album by Carmen Linares
‘Raíces y alas’, the 2009 Flamenco-world.com
Calendar and the book ‘La voz de los flamencos’
by Miguel Mora. While you are deciding, accept a warm flamenco
holiday greeting from the entire crew at Flamenco-world.com.
And then for 2009, as María Pagés says in
her greeting card, “peace and art”... And health,
may health not be missing.
