This Thursday, December 22 at 8:30 p.m., the Observatorio Expoflamenco is born with the intention of being a platform for the analysis of various current cultural issues that will be debated with different experts.

On this occasion, and due to the dates indicated, a topic that is subject to very different evaluations today is going to be addressed, such as the Zambomba, understood as a gathering of Christmas songs and not in the sense that points to it as an instrument.

From that meeting of neighbors in the courtyards to the outbreak of a mass party in the streets several factors have contributed. For some, it is a source of wealth and a normal evolution of modern times with contagion from other musical genres. For others, it may mean a certain degeneration of the essential nature of those spontaneous meetings. And in between, the tourism and hospitality sector, which appreciates the economic boost but worries about the overexploitation of a party that can die of success.

Has the zambomba become a carnival or sanfermines? Is there a false alarmism? What have those traditional zambombas left behind? Have musical elements been incorporated that have nothing to do with the repertoire of Christmas carols? Should only the business be taken into account or also a cultural heritage that is BIC?

 
Has the zambomba become a carnival or some sanfermines, as many predict? Is there perhaps a false alarmism? What have those traditional zambombas left behind? Have musical elements been incorporated that have nothing to do with the repertoire of Christmas carols? Should only the business be taken into account or also a cultural heritage that is BIC?

These and many other issues will be analyzed and debated by three leading experts invited to the Expoflamenco Observatory: Manuel Naranjo Loreto, folklorist and member of the Chair of Flamencology; Miguel Ángel Peña Díaz, teacher and compiler of traditional texts; and Amparo Bou, representing the Jerez Tourism Cluster. It will have the role of moderator José María Castaño. This session will be used for subsequent webinars on a date to be announced in advance.

The event will take place this Thursday, December 22 at 8:30 p.m. in the recently inaugurated Espacio Expoflamenco, located at Calle Diego Fernández Herrera – Edificio Los Ramos, local 6, in Jerez. Admission is free until full capacity. At the end, an honorary sherry will be offered courtesy of Bodegas Díez Mérito.