The Eves:

The events of the Zangarrón festival begin on the 25th of December with the so-called Eve. Around 20:00 in the evening “El Zangarrón”, together with the dancers and drummers, congregate the rest of the crowd in the Zangarrón’s house.

Once in the street, the dancers together with the drummer, dressed in capote and leguis, form two rows and play their castanets to the rhythm of the Zamoran whistle and the tambourine, performing the dance of the “Pasacalles”, which they will perform at all times as they go through the streets of the town.

The people accompany the dance and the zangarrón with cowbells, which they will ring continuously, provoking a jollification of music and noise, in which everyone participates.

The zangarrón, who is not yet wearing his characteristic costume (mask, costume, etc…), is also dressed in a capote and leguis and carries a vergajo in his hand.

His main task is to guard the ranks, that is, to ensure that no one enters the dance, a circumstance that happens all the time due to the provocation of the locals who dare to do so in order to make fun of him. The zangarrón chases them with long runs and will whip them with his cock for daring to break this rule.

At the end the procession will arrive at a point in the town called “las cuatro calles” where the event will end, but not before all those present hug and greet the zangarrón in a gesture of affection and joy.

The zangarrón will retire to rest until the next day and the rest of the people after dinner will go to the verbena enlivened by an orchestra.

Las Guardias (The Guards):

Throughout the night, so-called “guardias” carry out.

Two dancers in two-hour shifts check that the rest of the dancers do not take off their costumes, while at the same time making sure that two decks of cowbells carried by two volunteers do not stop ringing.

Dressing the zangarrón:

Around six o’clock in the morning, the zangarrón gets up and has breakfast. It is time to dress him. For the quinto it is a very special act, as it is the first time he sees the clothes of the character with the right of possession. It is like a dream about to come true.

A person from the town in charge of helping to dress the different zangarrones from previous years, will take out of a box and put on one by one the different pieces that make up the costume: suit, stockings, etc…

But the most awaited moment comes when, almost dressed, the helper places the mask on the quinto’s head before the attentive gaze of his family and closest friends, adopting the new identity of Zangarrón for a day, and having in his hands the attribute of reviving the ancestral tradition once again.

Once dressed, he will leave the house and run around the surrounding area to warm up a little.  Meanwhile, the mothers of the “quintos” cook large pots of garlic soup to invite the locals and visitors, who wait in the street ringing their cowbells, showing their impatience for the festival to begin.

Starting point of Zangarrón:

At about eight thirty the zangarrón leaves his house already dressed in his characteristic costume. The roar of the zangarrón gets louder and louder. In the street, the dancers have arranged themselves in two rows, the drummer starts the dance with the notes of the “pasacalles”. They will follow the same route as the previous evening, during which the young men will once again challenge the zangarrón by entering the dance and the zangarrón will in turn offer them long runs and whip them if they are caught.

Once the procession and the people have arrived back at the place of “la cuatro calles” the dancers form a single line with the drummer at the head and perform “the dance of the child”, a kind of oblique round in which all the dancers rotate, first forwards and repeating backwards, when they reach the height of the drummer each dancer makes their corresponding bow, inclining their heads without stopping dancing (as a symbol of respect).

Easter Giving:

After this dance, the rest of the people go to the cellars to have lunch. The zangarrón and the dancers will go separately to give Easter to the neighbours of the town, house by house. The zangarrón doesn’t say a word when a neighbour opens the door, he just puts the sack on the door so the neighbour can give him the Christmas bonus. The dancers, on the other hand, will have to fulfil a verbal ritual that will consist of saying the following to each neighbour when he opens his door:

“Ave María Purísima, da usted su permiso”,

“Adelante”

“ ¿Quién recibe las Pascuas?”

“ Yo mismo u otro familiar”

“Tenga usted felices Pascuas, en el nacimiento del Hijo de Dios, con muchos aumentos de Gracias, espirituales y corporales en compañía de … y de persona de su mayor agrado”

The neighbour will give him the aguinaldo (Christmas bonus). At no time can the dancers cross paths with the zangarrón in the street, because if this happens he will run after them and if they are caught they will have to give him all the money they have collected so far.

Mass and Procession:

At around midday the dancers and the zangarrón go to look for the parish priest to go and celebrate the Holy Mass. The dancers and the drummer will be allowed to enter the church, the zangarrón will have to wait in the square for the liturgical celebration to end. Afterwards, SanEsteban will be taken out in procession and carried on a platform by four members of the dance, called “bailonas”. The rest of the people who crowd the square will ring their cowbells in a great roar of noise.

This moment alludes to the possible origins of the festival:

Some centuries ago, Sanzoles was devastated by a terrible plague that decimated the population, reducing it by less than half. Faced with such a tragedy, the most religious neighbours took San Esteban out in procession so that he would intercede for them and stop the epidemic; but at the same time, those most affected, raging with anger at the loss of their loved ones, decided to stone the procession and the saint. The tragedy was avoided thanks to the skill of a farmer, a devotee of the saint, who dressed up in rags and a mask of skin. He succeeded in frightening and dissuading the aggressors.

After going round, the saint is placed at one end of the square. Dancers and drummers again perform “The Dance of the Child“, this time presided over by the image of San Esteban.

Then a dancer picks up a huge hand-held banner and in a horizontal position makes three bows in front of the image and all those present; at the same time the zangarrón blows up three inflated pig’s bladders with his foot and then carries the saint back to the church.

The festival will continue in front of the parish priest’s house where the dancers and drummers will perform a new dance “el entrecosido”, in exchange for which the priest will invite the dancers and drummers to bring some pastries and local wine out into the street for everyone to taste.

While it is time for lunch, the zangarrón will have to put up with the constant provocations of the waiters. But this time it will be a challenge as they will stand at a prudent distance and the waiter will show a money note with a joke so that the zangarrón will run after him. If he is caught he will have to pay him the amount of money he used as a lure.

Mutis meal:

At around fourteen thirty: dancers, drummer and zangarrón will leave to celebrate the “mutis” meal. This meal has this unique name, because the diners (zangarrón and dancers) will not be able to speak to each other during the meal.

Curiously, only the drummer can speak to reprimand the person who has broken the rule, and at the same time punish him with a financial penalty. After the meal, the zangarrón goes off on his own for the last round. When it is already coffee time, he will go round the bars of the town, asking for the last time for the Christmas bonus and thus ending the zangarrón festival until next year.