Vamos a la Feria

Madeline Mulkey
May 7, 2017
4 min read

It’s that time of year – put a flower in your hair, and pull out your dress, because we’re going to the Feria de Abril.

Although just two weeks ago we celebrated the grandest religious festival in Spain, a short two weeks later we are now celebrating another central part of the Spanish culture, Feria de Abril (April fair) a flamenco festival.

This is most certainly the most Spanish thing I have done yet.

Feria (fair – e – a) was extended this year, and begun at Saturday on midnight instead of Monday. Every year it begins with everyone gathering together for the pescaito (fried fish dinner) and everyone goes to casetas, extremely fancy tents that I have compared to tailgating spots, but much more elegant and well put together, and they eat fried fish before gathering at the grand entrance to watch the lights cut on for the first time signifying that Feria has begun.

One way to try to describe this festival would be a large party, but it does not do it justice. It is an elegant gathering with dancing, socializing, drinking, eating, and socializing, and it is unlike anything else you’ve ever seen.

Feria; A sensory explosion

The Sights:

Casetas (Ca – set – aas) – Small houses where people dance, drink and socialize with friends.

Each caseta is eloquently decorated with lace, paper lanterns, flowers, large posters of classic Sevilla images, and have traditional Spanish style tables for everyone to sit in and enjoy. There is a bar for food and a raised dance floor with music, arguably the most important part.

For Sevilla’s feria, there are two types of casetas, public and private. This is specifically unique to Sevilla, but creates a different atmosphere of the different levels of feria. To get into a private caseta you must have an invitation, which luckily, I did.

Dancing – Sevillana. A sub section of flamenco, which involves lots of twirling, arm movements, and fast paced footsteps. There are four different parts to the dance, called pasos, and each paso is determined by what music is playing. All pasos end with your hands in the air and an “Ole!”

The Sounds:

Flamenco music – This music has been in my head for the entirety of Feria. It is a guitar with clapping, and very guttural singing. Many of the words reference Triana (where I live), the Toro de Oro, and Sevilla.

Cacharritos – Fair rides. These are not just ordinary fair rides. Many of these are wilder that something you would see at Six Flags. Screams of terror as people are flown around (in their dresses no less) cover the area. These things big. These things are fast. And you best believe we go on them in our dresses.

Horse Drawn Carriages – the clip clopping of horse shoes and the bells that cover their backs are heard all over the city. The carriages take people to and from the Feria grounds, and so you hear them outside of your window no matter where you are. The riders wear the taditional outfits and crowd the streets in between the casetas. There are also street cleaners that come by every half hour to clean up after the horses, so the street washing sound is also prevalent.

The Smells:

"La huele de la Feria" (the smell of Feria) is a common phrase in Sevilla. It is known as this because every year after the oranges fall, the orange trees blossom these beautiful white flowers. The smell is a mixture of the gardenia flower and an orange, and can put you in a happy daze as you walk down the streets.

At Feria itself,

The smells of people; perfume, body odor, hairspray, the works.

The overwhelming scent of alcohol radiates from a crowds of people.

If you are in the streets, you will smell the mixed scent of horse excrements and street cleaner.

Near the caharritos, you smell fried churros, accompanied by cotton candy, with a hint of beer.

If you still have the ability to smell during Feria over your allergies, it is a sensory overload.

The Tastes:

Three most famous dishes of Feria

Rebujito: the drink of Feria. It is manzanilla (apple wine) mixed with 7 Up. With 7 Up, it is a tasty refreshing drink that cures thirst. Without 7 up, it tastes similar to a strong cleaner. Either way, it will very quickly put you on the floor.
Snails: Boiled snails are sold everywhere during this week. I tried a bowl of them with my host parents and after I got over looking at the snails face, I actually really enjoyed them. I have also eaten fish eyes though so proceed with caution.
Churros with chocolate: These are different than the typical churros in America. These churros do not have sugar on them, but are dipped into a cup of thick hot chocolate. Amazing is the word to describe it.

The Touch:(not the greatest way to title this but we’re going to go with it)

The dress that I wore is a navy blue and bright blue mix, bright blue shaw, red lip stick and a red flower on top of my head.

It fit like a glove (luckily, because it came from a second hand shop), but in it I feel like a princess. Although I'm clearly not from Spain, in it I look (and feel) like a Sevillan.

What has been made clear to me through this Feria week is the true value of spending time with those who you love. The week of Feria is when Spaniards get together and enjoy life with their friends. Traveling all over the world has been an incredible experience that I will cherish forever, but the one thing that this time has shown me is the importance of time with those you love, and that it is not worth it to do things you don’t enjoy.

This is my last week in Sevilla, and in Spain. It breaks my heart to leave, but I am wrapping up my time here and preparing for the adventure ahead. I still have two days left, so no time to waste!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Peace and Blessings.