VII Festival de Jerez |
PERFORMANCES: |
DANCE
WORKSHOPS: |
A
typical day in Jerez The Festival lasts two weeks but usually I attend one week of the Festival and spend the other week traveling to other places, like Sevilla or Madrid. I try to maximize my stay in Jerez by packing in as many classes and activities as possible. Here is what my typical day looks like: |
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8:00AM
- the alarm goes off |
![]() [Picture with everyone in the class] |
![]() [Snapshot with Rafaela] |
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1:00PM - relax in an outdoor cafe and have a quick bite. The city center is bustling with people as they go home or do their last minute shopping before the entire city closes for lunch and siesta at 2pm. |
![]() [City center bustling with people] |
![]() [Plaza Arenal] |
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![]() [The main cathedral of the city] |
2:00PM - the only time during the day to do more "touristic" activities. We visit churches and walk the narrow streets of Barrio Santiago. We join a tour of the Bodega Gonzalez-Byass. (This bodega is in fact where the Cafe Cantante is held as part of the Festival programming.) We learn the sherry (Jerez, or fino) making process and get a tour of their expansive compound. I especially liked the bodega with hundreds of barrels signed by all the famous people who have visited the bodega. Some examples: Steven Spielberg, Margaret Thatcher, Carlos Saura, Winston Churchill, and Lola Flores. The tour concludes with sherry tasting (from dry to sweet oloroso) with little tapitas (tapas). |
![]() [Our tour guide, Fatima] |
![]() [This Disney-mobile takes us around the Bodega] |
4:00PM - 6:30PM - Maria del Mar Moreno's Bulerias de Jerez class. She emphasizes the importance of cante, the aire, and having fun. No complicated steps are involved but it's very difficult to dance the Bulerias de Jerez the way it should be danced. Maria is a great singer as well, and she sings her way throughout the class so that her students can get accustomed to hearing the cante. She taught us about 5 or 6 different pataitas and on the last day of class, she made us each dance una patada while she sang. | |
![]() [Maria del Mar Moreno's class] |
![]() [Maria receiving flowers from her students] |
![]() [Our guitarist, Santiago Moreno and DC flamenco dancer Lisa Scott. Santi is Maria's brother] |
![]() [We each receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course] |
7:00PM
- Time to catch up on shopping and a bit of rest. There is time for
a quick bite as well. |
![]() |
[Peņa la Buena Gente was completely packed and people were spilling out into the streets] | |
3:00AM - Time to finally go to sleep. This routine will start all over again in 5 hours. |
Text and images by Florida Flamenco. Please do not republish in whole or part without prior written permission.