“Sevilla tiene un color especial”

You know you’re at Sevilla’s Feria de Abril if you are: grinning, drinking rebujito, eating pescaito frito, clapping along with Feria songs played on a loudspeaker, watching locals dance Sevillanas and taking photos obsessively.

The 150-year-old Feria de Abril takes place 2 weeks after Semana Santa every year. Little towns all over Andalucía have a spring Feria week as well, but of course the Sevilla Feria is the grandest. And, during the last weekend of the Feria, people from surrounding pueblos descend upon the Sevilla Feria.

You can find Ferris wheels and cotton candy at the fair here, but there are no pie contests, and the only livestock on the fairgrounds are the horses and mules that pull carriages that deliver locals to their casetas. Casetas, which are decorated tents of varying sizes, are the big thing at the Sevilla Feria.

Casetas with fair rides in the background
A caseta with a guard standing outside
People drinking, eating and dancing inside a public caseta

Of the 1,500 casetas at the fair, only 10-15 are public casetas. That’s the thing, every private caseta has a guard standing outside and keeping the riff raff out. Private casetas are paid for by groups of friends, families, hermandades (the groups who do pasos during Semana Santa), the local faction of a political party, rowing clubs, etc., etc. Casetas are quite expensive and the waiting list to get an available caseta is decades long. Like many traditions in Sevilla, Feria is not universally loved by all the locals. Some more erudite Sevillanos may argue that Feria is exclusive because not everyone has a private caseta. However, everyone I saw there - private caseta or not - seemed to be having a ball.

What goes on inside the casetas? Well, Feria is like a classy tailgate that lasts 7 days. The interiors of these casetas are decked out; many casetas have items such as: framed pictures or mirrors on the walls, lace draped over the walls, potted flowers and/or large glowing laterns hung from the ceiling. From about noon each day until dawn the next morning, people go to casetas to drink, eat and dance. The typical drinks of Feria are sherry and rebujito (a refreshing drink made with sherry and 7-Up on ice). Handily, it's impossible to get drunk even if you drink rebujito for many hours. The typical food is pescaito frito (fried fish) and essentially any food that is normally eaten in Sevilla all year.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a private caseta this week. The invite came from a Peruvian architect named Mario who’s lived in Sevilla for many years. He has a caseta with some of his architect friends. I know Mario because he wants me to tutor him in English. I only met with him once – a few days before Feria. But, he graciously called this Wednesday to invite me to his caseta. Brad came with, and the three of us enjoyed a couple hours of drinking rebujito and chatting about Feria traditions. We met a few of Mario’s friends and, at one point, we were all discussing how few public casetas there are . . . one friend joked, “Yeah, gidis almost never see the inside of a private caseta!” (A “gidi” is a Spanish nickname for an embarrassingly stereotypical tourist.) I laughed and said, “Lo se, lo se!” (I know, I know!) And then I thanked Mario for being so kind to invite me.

Dancing is a huge part of Feria. Locals all dance Sevillanas, the name of a beautiful dance that is danced with a partner or in groups of four. The music for Sevillanas has a 3 count and the first beat is emphasized. Most of the songs have lyrics about Sevilla. As Brad said, “This is the music a local far from home would want to listen to if he was homesick for Sevilla.”


Inside a public caseta on Wednesday


We got inside this private caseta because our American friend, Elena, has Sevilla connections

The dance mimics the actions of picking fruit from a tree and putting it into a basket. Many people sing along with the music and some women even play castanets. As a spectator, I was entranced by the dizzying frills and swinging fringe of the women’s’ flamenco dresses and shawls.

On Thursday afternoon

The coolest part of Feria may be the flamenco fashion. Most women, girls and even babies wear flamenco dresses, brightly-colored heels, a shawl with long fringe, elaborate dangly earrings, a color-coordinated comb and huge fake flower – often pinned on the top of the head. Staring at the million colors, dress styles, accessories, and gorgeous Spanish faces gave me a serious case of eye-glut.

On her cell phone on the way to the fairgrounds


And of course the costumed children are so precious! Many moms and their little girls or babies wear color-coordinated flamenco dresses. There's nothing cuter than 5-year-olds dancing Sevillanas in their little Feria outfits.

Sitting in a carriage
Posing for her mama
Riding with his daddy

Flamenco dresses are the only "regional costume" in Spain that still change with the fashion each year. To my ignorant eye, it seemed that white and red were really popular this year – as well as espadrilles. Then again, many of these patterns and colors have been popular for decades. I have no idea when the flower perched atop the head became the trend, but what a bold statement, huh? No one ever said that Sevillanas can’t accessorize!

When I asked these women if I could take a photo, they said, “¡Claro!” (Of course!)

The ladies aren’t the only ones with accessories . . .

The horses at Feria are decked out too!
From noon to 8pm each day, horses pull carriages to deliver people from their homes to the fairgrounds. Many women (riding side saddle) and their escorts ride past the casetas; I’m assuming the purpose is to see and be seen

I posted this obscene number of photos and videos all at once because that’s what Feria is like . . . you are surrounded by hundreds of women in a million colors and styles, dripping with accessories and looking unusually tall in their heels; you also see gorgeous horses trotting by, pulling shiny carriages full of festive people drinking manzanilla (sherry); and you hear loud joyous music from all sides; countless spinning, laughing people are dancing Sevillanas inside and outside of almost every caseta.