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In Jerez de la Frontera, Lola Flores were born (at number 45 on Sol Street, in the flamenco district of San Miguel, to be exact); the famous Tío Pepe wine (the uncle whose name is the most exported Spanish broth in the world existed, yes, and his name was José Ángel y Vargas, but it was from Sánlucar de Barrameda) and the tabancos . Or those traditional taverns in which strong cheese, clams and pork are now eaten, you drink fine and flamenco is sung, but that in the past, when you started the seventeenth century, were nothing more than modest shipments of bulk wine with counter of wood.
They start this autumn route through Jerez, far from the beach bars (the nearest beach is less than 10 kilometers away) and the days of scorching sun. Not surprisingly, this station can not sit better in this town of Cadiz. We cross the city between shrimp tortillas , improvised tablaos (and others that are not so much like Flamenco Calé, Puro Arte, La Taberna Flamenca, El Tablao del Berber or El lagá de Tía Parrilla) and wineries with solera. A lot. Apart from that of Tío Pepe-González Byass , known worldwide since 1935, you can visit Williams & Humbert , Lustau or Sandeman, all of them emblems of the designation of origin of the Marco de Jerez.
The cigar route
We return to the tabancos, where, with a hint of luck, you can see some parishioner tearing through bulerías (the most typical flamenco stick of Jerez) between boot and boot (here, in the South, the barrels or barrels are named ) of camomile. Even Cervantes was happily dropped by these renewed tascas. And so he said in Voyage of Parnassus when referring to the Gitanilla: «Friend of rattle and mortaruelo / That neither tabanco nor tavern leaves ...».
“There was a time when they were in the doldrums, but now they are booming. Whoever wants to rediscover them has a complete route throughout the city, ”explains Luisa García, an experienced local guide. That list includes names such as El Pasaje, La Pandilla, La Reja, San Pablo, Las Banderillas ... The latter, for example, was managed by Lola Flores's father. In the bar, the one in which Salmorejo and shrimp croquettes are now served with garlic, its current owners, Miguel Gómez and José Luis Pino, say that “with less than a year, the Faraona, he took his first dances.
Stop at the Royal School of Equestrian Art
Anyway, the tarancos are Jerez like flamenco, bulls and generous wine (González Byass, for example, won the 2019 award for the best European winery in the Wine Star Awards and, for several years, has been the best in the world), pure Andalusian essence.
The equestrian devotion of Jerez would be lacking: for something the population with the most inhabitants of Cádiz (about 213,000, even ahead of the capital) is known as «the city of the horse». And everything, since the Carthusian monks, in the distant fifteenth century, finished their prestigious homonymous race.
Today, to the visits to stud farms, specialized tailor shops or riding centers, we must add a stop at the Royal School of Equestrian Art, located in the Recreation of the Chains, whose crown jewel is the 19th century palace designed by it architect that the Opera of Paris and the Casino of Monte Carlo, Charles Garnier . In the complex, of 3,500 square meters, there is no lack of a garden of exotic plants, the saddlery, the gallop , five blocks, two museums (the Enganche and Equestrian Art), and so on.
Alberti's dedication
In the riding school , with capacity for 1,600 people, daily training and dressage show take place How Andalusian horses dance , with one hundred percent Spanish music and typical 18th-century costumes. It is made up of six to eight choreographies, from the Dressage Dressage to The Hooks or Jobs in the hand . In the latter, the horse obeys its dismounted rider performing high school and traditional riding exercises. According to Belén Bautista , the only woman rider of the institution, is the public's favorite "for its spectacular view of the horses jumping in corvettes, pranks ...".
For her, the school, in which she entered 1999 as a student, is her "life and passion." From the visit to the center it remains with that of the Guardanés (where, as the name implies, the harnesses are stored). "Every person who likes the world of the horse and who does not know the guild is surprised by its organization, cleanliness and decoration," adds Bautista.
For those interested, you can enjoy the art of Tabique, Teclado, Quebracho, Senil and the rest of equine stately in How the Andalusian horses dance every Tuesday and Thursday of the year, in addition to a Saturday a month. From August to October there is an extra session on Fridays. Rafael Alberti, an illustrious Cadiz and a confessed fan of these purebloods, defined the representation: «Who does not see them and who does not ecstasy / your rhythmic step, your pure, / perfect sharpness, your restraint, / your sense of geometry? / You are the measures, exalted lights / that sprout from the Andalusian fields ». Best equestrian ambassador , impossible.
The route through Jerez cannot be finished without a walk through the historic center with terrace and tapas included. From Broad Street to Porvera, Lancería, la Merced or the pleasant Plaza del Arenal . You have to make a stop at the spectacular cathedral, where you can admire a work by Francisco de Zurbarán, The Virgin girl meditating or Sleeping . The artist painted the noble Catalina de Zurita in the mid-seventeenth century. The climax is put in the fortress, from which you can see the entire city through a dark chamber.
More information
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On the websites of http://www.andalucia.org and http://www.turismojerez.com
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