Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Los Amarguillos

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Los Amarguillos
128 bar Medley (S32+S32+R32+R32) for 4 Couples in a Square Set, devised by Stephanie Coulshed, Ali Blair, Rose And Stuart Kreloff.

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram


Dance Instruction Videos

Los Amarguillos - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

This dance tells the story of the missing Amarguillos cakes in Medina-Sidonia.

Four dancers bought eight amarguillos from the nuns of the Monasterio Jesús, María y José in Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz. As the Agustinas Recoletas is an enclosed order, the purchase was made through the revolving hatch built into the convent wall. After collecting the cakes, the group went to a nearby hotel, where they ate four of them with coffee before beginning their journey home. The remaining cakes were accidentally left on the table. When Ali later returned to the hotel to retrieve them, staff at the reception desk produced the box, although only two cakes were still inside. Those final two were divided and shared later in the afternoon with another round of coffee.

Amarguillos are a traditional sweet associated with Medina-Sidonia in the province of Cádiz.

They are described as one of the town's characteristic confections, made from a mixture of marzipan combined with egg and a small amount of bitter almond, which gives the sweet its name. They are produced in various local establishments and form part of the wider confectionery tradition for which Medina-Sidonia is well known, alongside other regional specialities such as alfajores and tortas pardas.



Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'Los Amarguillos' page