about the Feria de Abril…

I finally experienced the oh so famous Feria de Abril in Sevilla, and it was spectacular…to say the least. The pictures say it all and there is really no need for me to ramble on about it. I will however give you a mini ramble about what this actually is.

Have you ever seen those Spanish women in pictures and they are all dressed up in flamenco dresses (trajes)? polka dots? stripes? paisley? Then on top of their colorful and figure-hugging dresses they decorate themselves with colorful accessories… earrings, broaches, shawls, flowers, hair clips, bracelets… you name it… they got it. If you have seen pictures of these women and children, probably they were on their way to the Feria de Abril in Sevilla!

The fair or feria is just another excuse for Sevillanos to drink, eat, dance, and party. And who could argue? Starting in 1847 the fair started to gain popularity and created this idea of casetas or small houses. These houses are owned by the elite Sevillanos whose families carry on the tradition of owning and keeping these casetas for all family and friends to come and strut their stuff at the feria. Each caseta is a little bit different, but all of them include a dance floor, a mini-restaurant, and seating. Now in Sevilla many of the big companies have casetas too, which has added to the amount of casetas that totaled more than this year! Many Sevillanos ride in on horseback or horse-drawn carriages and there are also daily bull fights…its all tradition of course.

G and I were so fortunate to have some Sevillanos take us around to their casetas and we enjoyed drinking rebujito (manzanilla wine with sprite), eating to our heart’s content, and showing a few moves on the dance floor… which was cut short seeing as the rebujito was WAY too easy to drink.

You can also see more photos on my picasa page…as always. Don’t miss your chance to go to the Feria de Abril it doesn’t disappoint.

Happy to be able to breath again (figure-hugging dresses or figure-life-sucking dresses),
L

Share!

•