Jerez

After a run around the tip of Cadíz in the fog and drizzle, which I will not call “frozzle,” and which included going through the Dr. Seuss park, I packed up my stuff and got on a train to Jerez.

I expected this place, the city of dancing horses and sherry drinking, to have a little more, I don’t know, pizazz. It is very low key, a lot of the businesses are closed and the buildings for rent, and some of the top “things to do” in Jerez on Trip Advisor involve taking day trips to other places.

To be fair, the unemployment rate in southern Spain is more than double what it is in the north, agriculture in the south is suffering from what is being called a 500-year drought, and there is more poverty in the south. So when the woman at the hotel desk said my room was ready even though I showed up at noon, I thought to myself that it had probably been ready for at least a week.

Nonetheless, the centro of Jerez is lively and it’s easy to find young hipsters drinking beer while sitting in front of this famous Plaza de Arenal statue (which I shall call "Dictator with Pigeon Shoulder") celebrating the rise to power of Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spain’s first dictator, who overthrew the democratically-elected government in the late 1920’s and who historians credit with creating the disastrous conditions that allowed Francisco Franco to start a civil war and take over as the next dictator for decades.

It’s also a very old place so there are things to see. Like the Royal Alcázar, which dates back to the 12th century, not counting the multiple times it was destroyed and rebuilt. The original version, which had Moorish influences that still appear, was built to house the royal family, some army guys and the literati of the time. It has two main watchtowers – one facing away from the city and one facing in. Why? Because the people who lived inside figured it was as likely that they’d be invaded by outsiders as it was that they’d be invaded by angry townspeople. As the tour narrator said “it was a dangerous time.”

There is, of course, also a massive cathedral. If you’re going to build a church, here’s how you do it. And it was built with ramps so that people who want to pray for healing don’t have to walk up 200 steps to get to the alter. 

The big story in town is the story of Tío Pepe. Sherry is everywhere and has been for a long time. Back in the1800’s, the Tío Pepe winery got electricity before the city of Jerez did. Not making any judgments at all about religion and alcohol, but the largest statue I could see on the cathedral grounds was one of Tío Pepe, standing next to a keg of sherry.