The word Jamon, pronounced “yamon”, means ham in Spanish, and if there is one thing the Spanish are crazy about, it is good Jamon. In Spain, Jamons are traditionally made in local family farmhouses. Each house has its own curing room or camara where the Jamons are hung to mature. Such is the rivalry in these local villages that it is not unknown for at least one family member to be left at home at all times just to guard the Jamons.
But why Jamon Jamon? Well, in Spain, if something is good, then two of it must be superb, and the call Jamon Jamon has come to mean just this in the colloquial Spanish dialect.
To the Spanish, Jamon Jamon speaks of vigour and the passion for life. Not surprisingly then that this was the theme for Bigas Luna’s 1992 film Jamon Jamon about the age-old tale of forbidden love, set in the dusty plains of Spain where the locals dream of hormone-fuelled passion and bull-fighting.
