See images of the Feria of Sevilla  

The Feria of Seville is one of the world’s largest and most colourful parties. It is a cultural orgy amply lubricated by a sea of Manzanilla. Seville: spring sunshine blazing from bright blue skies. Well, almost. In spring, when the sun shines it radiates heat that, for the unwary, can burn.

The little known thing is that this is also a time of rain and, yes, it can still be quite cold. However, this normally does nothing to dispel the atmosphere of expectancy and excitement that pervades the streets.

The Feria of Seville is completely different from the Holy Week, the other major springtime event in Seville which happens two weeks before the Feria. In contrast to the outpouring of religious zeal, the Feria is the mother of all parties and is the event that signals the fiesta season for the rest of Andalusia, all of which are based on the model of Seville.

One of the main differences with Holy Week is that rain makes little impression. Even though the streets of the Feria precinct are composed of earth that converts to a clawing mud with the addition of water, the spirit of the Feria takes over and no-one cares.

The origins of the Feria are interesting. The concept wasn’t in fact Andalusian. The festival was born on the 25th August of 1846 when Narciso Bonaplata and José María de Ybarra signed a proposal that they had presented to the Municipal Authorities for an annual fair. These enterprising gentlemen; a Basque and a Catalan, originally intended that their idea should be an annual livestock fair to be held during three days between the 19th and 21st of April.

So, it was in April of 1847 that the first Feria of Seville was held. 1863 saw the inauguration of what, with good reason, has become known as the Street of Hell; an area set aside for carnival attractions that have some of the highest octane rides in Western Europe. In 1864, the first fireworks were seen illuminating the Sevillian night sky and in 1874, the first alumbrao (lighting up of the area by thousands of electric lights) was experienced.

An important event that resounds down the years is that 1877 marked the first year that paper light shades, one of the hallmarks of the Feria, were used. Over the years too, the Feria has got longer. It has been a six day celebration since 1953.

The design of the Feria is basic: small tent-like structures, or casetas; over a thousand of them, are constructed in the Los Remedios part of the city. Together, they form a small town with their own streets, sanitation, electrical supply etc and each consists of a bar and a place to eat and dance. From this basic starting point, the similarity between casetas ends.

Each caseta has its individual identity and decoration and is provisioned by a group of friends or colleagues who spend all year paying for the privilege of being part of the action. The first event of the Feria is the pescaito, or time for family and friends to get together in their newly constructed casetas to eat fried fish and other regional delicacies. The thousands of lights decorating the specially decorated archway (always a recreation of an historical archway and built with great care and attention to detail each year) are lit up the day before amid a welter of noise and fireworks splashing into the night air.

And the atmosphere is electric. All week long and at all hours thousands of people crush into the small casetas to dance sevillas, sing rumbas and drink copious amounts of fino or manzanilla, the fine wine from Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

But take care, in contrast with most of the other fiestas in Andalusia; in Seville many of the casetas are not usually open to the general public. Invited people or relatives are ushered in under the watchful gaze of a security guard. One technique to gain access is to stroll up to the guard as if you were meant to be there (don’t pay him any attention) and when asked, say you’re a friend of Miguel or Pepe or Paco.

As in most things, brashness gets away with many things.

In some casetas wine is drawn from wells and poured from buckets and there are beds in the back that are available for a small siesta. Surprisingly, some of the best casetas (generally free entry) are those run by the Communist and Anarchist groups.

Whilst the Feria has to be enjoyed ‘on the ground’, there is also a full programme of events to attend. The daily horse parade is one of the most colourful when many of the participants drive round in exquisite carriages dressed in their finest bib and tuckery. This is one event in which you’ll see the aristocracy of Seville displaying their finest horse flesh and regional costumes.

Bullfighting is also one of the staple events of the Feria. The whole week is dedicated to some of the highest level bullfights in the Hispanic world and the schedule attracts the most glamorous and best fighters from all over the world.

The epicentre of this event is the imposing Plaza de Toros de Maestranza, or "the Cathedral" in homage to it being not only beautiful but also the only place in the world where the art of bullfighting is practised in its finest form.

Tickets can be purchased not only at the bullring but all around Seville and from the Internet in advance.

The Feria of Seville is, without doubt, one of the most exciting regional festivals in Spain if not the world. The women dress in the traje de flamenco - body hugging dresses that celebrate their femininity, the men dress in costumes that date back to the Middle Ages and horses and carefully preserved carriages parade around the temporary city vying for attention in a sea of colour.

Be first to comment this article

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com
All right reserved