Main festivals: Carnival, fairs and more
In Cádiz the year is measured in festivals: Carnival in February, Holy Week, spring fairs, the flamenco festival, the August horse races and Christmas zambombas.
Key points
- The Cádiz Carnival is a Festival of International Tourist Interest: humour, satire and music from chirigotas, comparsas, choirs and quartets.
- The Jerez Horse Fair (May) and the Sanlúcar horse races (August) share that recognition.
- Holy Week is celebrated across the province; those of Cádiz, Jerez and Arcos are the best known.
- In spring and summer almost every town has its fair; in December come the zambombas.
Festival calendar of the province of Cádiz
- Jan
- Feb Cádiz Carnival Jerez Flamenco Festival
- Mar Holy Week (March or April)
- Apr Holy Week (March or April)
- May El Puerto Spring Fair Jerez Horse Fair
- Jun Manzanilla Fair, Sanlúcar Algeciras Royal Fair
- Jul Our Lady of Carmen (16 July) Lunes del Toro, Grazalema
- Aug Sanlúcar beach horse races
- Sep Jerez Grape Harvest Festival
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec Zambombas in Jerez and Arcos
The Cádiz Carnival
For weeks, the Gran Teatro Falla hosts the Official Carnival Groups Contest (COAC), with four categories: chirigotas, comic and satirical; comparsas, more poetic; choirs, who sing tangos on open wagons; and quartets, humorous theatre. After the final, the party takes to the streets: ten days of costumes, songs, “ilegales” who sing just for fun, and the parade.
- ChirigotasHumour and current affairs with sharp lyrics.
- ComparsasPoetic, protest lyrics, voices and guitars.
- ChoirsTangos with a plucked-string orchestra on a wagon.
- QuartetsTheatrical parodies with the sound of the cane whistle.
Holy Week
Holy Week in Cádiz has its own style: floats leaving churches by the sea, foremen and bearers moving “face forward” and, in Cádiz city, the early hours of Good Friday. In Jerez, saetas sung by great flamenco voices; in Arcos, floats going down impossible slopes and, on Easter Sunday, the traditional Toro del Aleluya.
Spring and summer fairs
| Festival | Place | When |
|---|---|---|
| Spring Fair and Fino Wine Festival | El Puerto de Santa María | April or May |
| Horse Fair | Jerez de la Frontera | May |
| Manzanilla Fair | Sanlúcar de Barrameda | Late May or June |
| Royal Fair | Algeciras | June |
| Horse races | Sanlúcar de Barrameda | August |
| Grape Harvest Festival | Jerez de la Frontera | September |
Summer by the sea
In summer, Our Lady of Carmen (16 July) is carried in sea processions in fishing towns such as Barbate, Conil, Sanlúcar and La Caleta in Cádiz; the Lunes del Toro packs Grazalema in July, and the Sanlúcar races turn the beach into a racecourse.
Autumn and winter
At the end of summer, Jerez celebrates the Fiesta de la Bulería and the grape harvest festival. In December, the zambombas of Jerez (the Jerez zambomba is a protected Cultural Heritage asset) and Arcos bring neighbours together in courtyards and squares to sing flamenco carols around a bonfire.
This year’s dates
Carnival and Holy Week change date with the liturgical calendar, and the Sanlúcar races with the tides. Always check dates on each town’s official website and in our festival news.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Cádiz Carnival?
Around February: the street party starts the weekend before Ash Wednesday and lasts about ten days, after weeks of the groups contest at the Gran Teatro Falla. As it depends on Easter, the dates change every year.
Can you get into the Falla contest?
Tickets for the Official Carnival Groups Contest (COAC) are sold online and sell out fast, especially for the final. The street, however, is free, and that is where the most authentic carnival is.
What is a zambomba?
A Christmas gathering typical of Jerez and Arcos where flamenco carols are sung around a bonfire with friction drums (zambombas), tambourines and anisette bottles.