The Feria de Abril
After we got back from Barcelona, it was time to start preparing for one of Seville’s largest celebrations: the Feria de Abril (April Fair). Many cities in Spain have a springtime fair, but Seville’s is world famous. The fair takes place every year about two weeks after Semana Santa. (This year, the fair was rather late, and actually took place during the first week of May.)
Feria was initially a cattle-trading fair that began in 1847, but since then it has evolved into a weeklong party with flamenco dresses, dancing, bullfighting, horseback riding, and more. There’s a piece of land in the Los Remedios neighborhood of Seville that is kept empty to be used during Feria. Once spring rolls around, the space is transformed from empty land into a mini city filled with casetas (tents). There are public casetas where food and drinks are sold, and which anyone can enter. However, the majority of the casetas are private, rented by families or other groups/organizations, and you must be invited in order to enter. I was told that renting a caseta can cost somewhere close to 600€ ($816), and there is usually a five or six year waiting list! The Feria grounds are incredibly organized, as all casetas are numbered and placed along named streets (which bear the names of famous bullfighters.) The tents originally were used in the cattle market, but today they’re more like dance halls or restaurants.
During the day, Feria is a time to socialize with friends and family, and seems to mainly be focused on eating, drinking, and watching the parade of horses and carriages. The drinks of choice are sherry and rebujitos (white wine mixed with a soda, such as 7 Up). In the evening, the party can last until 6 or 7AM the next day, and is more focused on dancing sevillanas (what we call “flamenco” dancing, but which is actually a very specific style of dance). For the kids (and adults, too!), there’s the Calle del Infierno (“Hell Street”), where they have amusement park rides like roller coasters and ferris wheels set up. Many women and girls wear flamenco dresses, which are based on gypsy-style clothes from the 19th century. Women who don’t wear the trajes de gitana still dress up, and so do the men. Men who ride on horseback wear traditional Andalusian clothes.
Feria officially begins on Monday at midnight when they turn on all of the lights and lanterns that line the streets. My friends and I joined the crowd to watch them turn on the lights on the portada, the giant wooden gate at the entrance to the fairground. Every year they build a wooden gate that’s inspired by a different building in Sevilla. This year the source of inspiration was a building that no longer exists but once stood along the Alameda de Hércules area near the historic city center.
Once Feria begins, it’s nonstop partying and celebrations. Unlike Semana Santa, where festivities occur throughout the city and are practically inescapable, Feria is pretty concentrated in one part of Seville. As you walk around town, you can see people all dressed up as they head to or from the fairgrounds. The city even sets up a special bus line to take people to Feria.
I went with friends to get a taste of both the “day” and “night” side of Feria. I considered buying a flamenco dress, but I had heard that even used ones cost somewhere between 30 and 50 Euros, so I decided that between the cost and the trouble of bringing a frilly, floor length dress back to the US, it wasn’t worth it. I do know a lot of people that bought dresses and were happy with their decision, though! I also know several girls who were able to borrow dresses from someone in their host family. However, I did want to get in the “Feria spirit”, so I bought a shawl, some earrings, and a flower for my hair. My host mom helped me with my hair and even lent me some hair combs. I wore a nice dress and had fun dressing up a bit and feeling like a proper chica sevillana.
I didn’t spend too much time at Feria because it wasn’t really my “thing”. I can see why it’s popular, and I think I might have enjoyed it more if I was actually a Spaniard and my family had a caseta. I think for many people it’s like a family reunion, where everyone you know gets together to have a nice time. That being said, I’m not the only one who isn’t in love with Feria; many Spaniards think it’s a classist event, since casetas are so expensive and generally it’s only possible to have a big event if you have money. However, I still had a nice time enjoying the spectacle of it all, and spending time with my friends. I even went to a tent that was hosted by an ONG (non-governmental organization) that my host mother is a part of, called Acciónenred Sevilla, which works on social justice issues.
I was only in town for the beginning of Feria, as I left Wednesday to go to Valencia, came back to Sevilla for the night on Friday, and then left again Saturday to go visit the towns of Mérida and Salamanca. However, I feel like I got to see what Feria is like, and as I was heading home on Sunday night, I even got to watch the fireworks that mark the close of Feria!
kelseygoestospain 