Jerez

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Jerez de la Frontera
Easter 2007 in Jerez.
Flag Coat of Arms
Location
Location of Jerez de la Frontera within Cádiz province
Coordinates :
Administration
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Andalusia
Province	Cádiz
Comarca	Campiña de Jerez
Mayor	Pilar Sánchez Muñoz (PSOE)
Geography
Land Area	1,188.14 km²
Altitude	56 m AMSL
Population
Population	205,364[1] (2008)
Density	170.59 hab./km² (2007)
General information
Native name	Jerez de la Frontera (Spanish)
Spanish name	Jerez de la Frontera
Postal code	11401 to 11409
Website	http://www.webjerez.com/

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Jerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. As of 2008, the city, the largest city in the province, had 205,364 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia. It has become the transportation and communications hub of the province, surpassing even Cádiz, the provincial capital, in economic activity. Jerez de la Frontera is also, in terms of land area, the largest municipality in the province, and its sprawling outlying areas are a fertile zone for agriculture. There are also many cattle ranches and horse-breeding operations.

The city's name

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In former times, during the Muslim occupation of Iberia, it was called Xerez or Xeres. Frontera in its name refers to its location on the border between the Moorish and Christian regions of Spain during that period. The name of the famous fortified wine, sherry, which originated here (although some argue that it originated in Shiraz), is a corruption of the city's Arabic name, which is pronounced Sherish.

Government

The city of Jerez is governed by the ayuntamiento (municipality) of Jerez, whose representatives, as in other towns in Spain, are elected every four years by universal suffrage for all citizens older than 18 years of age. The body is chaired by the mayor of Jerez. Pilar Sánchez Muñoz of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party has been the mayor of Jerez since 2005.

Economy

Jerez international airport.

The economy of Jerez has traditionally been centered on the wine industry, with exports of sherry worldwide. Because it lacks the civil service that other cities enjoy, Jerez has based its economy on industry. The cultivation of fruits, grains, and vegetables and horse and cattle husbandry has also been important to the local economy.

After the wine crisis in the 1990s, the city is now seeking to expand its industrial base. Tourism has been successfully promoted. The city's strong identity as a center for wine, flamenco, and horses, its popular festivals, and its historical heritage have contributed to this success.

The city is the home of Jerez Airport and has also been positioning itself as a logistics hub for western Andalucia.

Culture

Flamenco and horse show

Jerez is known as the capital of sherry wine, the horse, and flamenco. It is the home of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, a riding school comparable to the world-famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Jerez, the city where flamenco singing began, is also proud of its Andalusian Centre of Flamenco.

There are two museums of note: the Jerez Archaeological Museum and the Atalaya Watch Museum (also known as "Palace of Time").

Facade of a caseta at Horse Fair.

The old quarter of Jerez, dating from medieval times, has been named an "Artistic Historic Complex". The Easter week celebrations in Jerez are of "National Touristic Interest", and its remarkable Horse Fair (Feria del Caballo) in May is an event of "International Touristic Interest".

ref>Information and Accommodation in the town of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucia, southern Spain</ref>

• Institución Ferial de Cádiz (IFECA).^[2]
• Andalusian Flamenco Center: located at Pemartín Palace, it holds the cathedra of flamencologia (flamenco knowledge and studies).
• Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art

This is the city from where all the actors of "En tu ausencia" ^[3], the 2007 independent movie by Ivan Noel come from. The movie was filmed in the city's region. Gonzalo Sanchez Salas is the boy, found working in a butcher shop in the city, that performs the role of Pablo, the lead characther in the movie.

Sport

Jerez is present in most important national competitions. The more important clubs in different sport are:

• Xerez Club Deportivo: first football team in the city. Currently plays in Liga BBVA (Segunda División) in Spain and will play in La Liga in 2009-10 season.
• Puma Chapín Jerez: Jerez is home to one of the best athletic teams of Spain. It has been champion of Spain in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.^{[citation needed]} It has been the Copa del Rey champion many times.
• Club Natación Jerez: it has been champion of many championships, it has won the "Campeonato de España Master" ("Championship of Spain Master") many times.
• Canasta Unibasket Jerez: City's basketball team. In the next season, it will be in the LEB Plata (Spanish's basketball's league of Silver).

Jerez is also the site of Circuito de Jerez, formerly called the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, where the annual Motorcycling Grand Prix is contested. The race course is a prime destination for Formula One teams who wish to perform off-season testing; it also hosted the highly controversial 1997 European Grand Prix.

The Jerez campus of the University of Cádiz.

Education

There are 74 elementary schools, 41 secondary schools, 12 adult education centers and 10 public libraries in the city of Jerez.^{[citation needed]}

The University of Cádiz, the provincial university, has a campus in Jerez.

The city is also home to a member of the Official School of Languages (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas) and a center of the National Distance Education University (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED).

History

This section requires expansion.

Jerez in 1835.

The area around Jerez de la Frontera has been inhabited by humans since at least the Copper or Neolithic Age. The identity of these indigenous people remains unclear, but the first major settlement of the area (around the third millennium BC) is attributed to the Tartessos.

Since then, Jerez has been occupied by five cultures: the Tartessic, the Phoenician, the Roman, the Muslim, the Jewish, and the Christian.

Its name goes back to the existence of Phoenician Xera, Sèrès, then romanized under the name of Ceret; the location of this settlement, however, remains unknown.^{[citation needed]}

Early history

Jerez Alcazar

Jerez was a small independent emirate created c. 1030 in what is now Spain after the fall of the Emirate of Córdoba. Some years later was united to Arcos by Aben Jairuan who ruled both c. 1040-1053. In 1053 it was annexed to Sevilla. From 1145 to 1147 the region of Arcos and Jerez was briefly an emirate under dependency of Granada, led by Aben Garrum.

The Middle Ages

Part of town wall kept inside a sherry cellar

This section requires expansion.

Modern history

View of Cathedral and bodegas

This section requires expansion.

Demographics

According to official population data from INE, the municipality of Jerez had 205,364^[1] inhabitants as of January 1, 2008. This makes Jerez the most populous city in the province, fifth in Andalusia, and 27th in Spain.

Famous natives of Jerez

Lola Flores monument

• Manuel Alejandro
• Mercedes Chilla
• Daniel Güiza
• Kiko (footballer)
• Lola Flores
• José Mercé
• Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
• Gerardo Núñez
• Miguel Primo de Rivera
• Mala Rodriguez

Bosco Guerrero "El niño de Jerez"

Twin cities

• Arles,  France
• Seville,  Spain
• Kiyosu,  Japan
• El Paso, Texas,  United States ^[4]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jerez de la Frontera

• Official site
• Jerez de la Frontera at the Open Directory Project (Spanish)
• Jerez de la Frontera travel guide from Wikitravel
• photographs of Jerez de la Frontera
• Jerez eGuide