Once someone had been elected to the council of Elders, he would remain there for life, or until senility overtook him.  In total there were twelve Elders and that number was never changed.

  In the second ring, which was slightly larger (containing approximately twenty wagons) and set back five metres from the first, were the older members of the community. These were mostly widows, widowers and people over the age of sixty.

  Again, their positions were mainly for convenience. Only a short walk from the centre, and also protected from direct attack from the two outer rings. The third ring consisted of around thirty-five wagons. the occupants of these were mostly couples aged between forty and sixty, plus their still unmarried offspring. The fourth and final ring was the largest and by far the most important. In this circle there were set positions, one for the horsemen, or caballeros', whose wagons were placed near the horse herd, so as they could reach them at the slightest sign of danger.  The remainder of the ring it was where younger members of the tribe camped, aged between eighteen and forty, they were the main defence of the encampment. Men and women both were skilled in the art of knife fighting, archery and use of the slingshot. If attacked, they would fight to the death to protect the rest of their community.

  After completing their circle formations, the Gypsies wasted no time in arranging the camp.   There were still many duties to be done and only a short time remained before the harvest was to begin. Into the night the Gypsies laboured at their appointed tasks. Water was collected from mountain springs, then stored in the large water barrels placed around the camp. Wood for the fires needed to be cut and sawn, food for the people and fodder for animals had to be brought from the villages and stored.

  For the next two days, the sound of the Gypsies going about their duties rang through the valley. Shops were sold out, flour, grain, beans and wine was bought by the sack and barrel full. Trees were felled and soon a mountain of wood had been gathered and stacked by the entrance to the camp. A constant colony of women, children and pack mules streamed in and out the camp. All laden with supplies gathered from throughout the valley.

On the last day of December, the eve of the New Year, the Gypsies finally finished their chores. To celebrate both the start of the New Year and the start of the harvest, a party (which would be the first of many throughout the year), was held in the camp centre. Singing and dancing, consuming wine by the gallon, the Gypsies celebrated the birth of a new year.

  The following day, the camp took one of its very few holidays. With many of the inhabitants hung over from the wine and their throats sore from singing and revelry the night before, it was not until late morning the camp began to stir. Stumbling from their beds, eyes glazed and heads throbbing. One by one they made their way once more to the camp centre. Here they waited the arrival of a messenger who would bring them word of when the work was about to begin.

  All day the men sat around the communal fire, eating and drinking at a more subdued pace then the previous evening. As the sun started to sink behind the western mountains, a solitary figure could be seen approaching the camp. Mounted on a fine black stallion that drew admiring glances from the Gypsies, he rode around the rings and into the centre. Without dismounting, he approached the Elders who were gathered to meet him. His message was short and simple.

  He informed the Elders, that all people requiring work should gather in the centre square of Ubeda the following day. They were to be there before dawn, where the Patrono’s would select their crews. After delivering his message, he wheeled his horse around and rode back in the direction he had come. The harvest had now begun.