Los Amarguillos

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 All Ladies dance RH across; All Men dance LH across
9-16 All circle 8H ½ way round to right; All Ladies dance anticlockwise behind corner and in front of next Man. 1L and 3L face in, 2L and 4L face out
17-20 2s+4s dance ½ Men's Chain
21-24 1L followed by 3M also 3L followed by 1M dance in Tandem through couple to right, Ladies cast right, Men cast left to original places. 1234
25-32 All set and link; All change places RH with partner, face clockwise and chase ¼ round. 4123

Repeat in Strathspey time then twice in Reel time back to original places

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Los Amarguillos - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

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.