The April Fair: Féria de abril

The world famous Féria de Sevilla is taking place in Seville, Spain this week and is evoking some serious nostalgia. La Féria, or La Féria de abril (“The April Fair”) occurs two weeks after Semana Santa (Holy Week). Originally, La Féria was a livestock fair but gradually evolved into one of the world’s most popular celebrations. Many consider La Féria the epitome of the Sevillano image: an impressive mix of bright colors, passionate music and singing, HOT sunshine and families coming together to dance, socialize and of course, drink.  

La Féria takes place in the district of Los Remedios, right next to where I used live in Triana during my study abroad year. Fortunately, it was only about a 15 minute walk from my house. It’s a struggle to find parking spaces during La Féria, so metros, buses and taxis are consistently full for this 7 day, 24 hour party. At the official entrance, you will find the impressive portada which changes each year depending on the chosen artist’s vision. 

2014’s portada (my favorite!):

2016’s portada:

2017’s portada:

This year’s portada is beautiful! I’m so sad I’m not there to see it in person:

La Féria has two areas: the section with all the colorful casetas and the amusement park on Calle de Infierno (Hell Street). The casetas are temporary canvas tents which can be owned by a family, an organization, a club, etc. Private casetas are very expensive considering the one week time frame. It is 1,000 euros ($1,369) just to reserve a spot in La Féria and on top of that you have to consider the price of the waiters, electricity, food etc. Each has a kitchen, a bar and of course a means of playing the traditional music/dance, Sevillanas. You wouldn’t think you were inside a tent looking into a lot of the casetas as they are ornately decorated.

Looking at Calle de Infierno:

One of the public casetas:

And a private one. Each of the private casetas has its own name.

Some beautifully decorated interiors: Each of the streets of La Féria are named after famous toreros. Bullfights also start up again during The April Fair.Street view, day vs night:

La Féria is a feast for the senses. I never attended without my camera because all of the colors were too beautiful to enjoy by memory alone. The women wear trajes de flamenca of every style and color imaginable and the men wear suits; unless they are on horseback or driving the carriages in which case they wear a traje corto with a wide-brimmed hat. If you don’t have a traje de flamenca, any nice dress will do and you will probably be a lot cooler as well.

Las trajes surprisingly weigh A LOT with layers upon layers of cloth and are expensive, ranging from 50-350 euros or more. I was really lucky to borrow a traje my first year and then use a second hand one my second and third years. In case anyone is wondering, they are hard to sit down in and grow increasingly tighter as the fair goes on and you continue to stuff your face with fried food. The trajes de flamenca fashions vary year to year. My host mom said they tried to make shorter dresses popular, but with little success. I personally like the traditional long dresses, I think they are more elegant.

The accessories with a traje de flamenca are just as important as the dress itself. The women wear a giant flower on their head (on top or behind the ear) along with pendientes (earrings), a necklace (collar), a comb (peine) and a bracelet (pulsera) depending on their preference. Most of the women also wear wedge heels which are more comfortable to walk in than traditional heels. Absolutely no two women look alike with their various choices and it was so exciting to admire all the different combinations.

Here are some examples of accessories:

So one combination can look something like this:

Many of the dresses have little zippered pockets underneath the skirt for keys, phones, money etc. so the women don’t need to carry around a purse:

Another accessory women wear are colorful shawls or mantones. My former host mom makes them by hand so for weeks prior to La Féria, the phone was ringing off the hook with new commissions. She has to sew each strand into the cloth and then knots the strands into different patterns called a dibujo. She is a perfectionist, so the quality of her mantones are top notch.

The first night of La Féria is when the portada is illuminated at midnight which is shown on local news channels. It is also known as La noche de pescaditos, so people eat fried fish. Other fair food includes croquetas, jamón, tortilla de patatas, and montaditos. Sweets such as churros con chocolate are available where the rides are held. The official drink of Féria is a refreshing mixture of sherry and 7-Up called rebujito. 

Daytime Féria is more popular for families while young people arrive in the evening and stay out most of the night. The last evening is celebrated with fireworks as anticipation for the following year begins to grow!