Feria de Abril

Today I went to Seville for the Feria, I'll explain exactly what that is later on.

I thought for a long time whether I should go or not. My language school planned to leave right after class at 3 p.m. and we planned to be back at 11 p.m.

Why did I think about going or not? Because, exactly as I thought, it is a mixture of Cologne Carnival, Hamburg Dom and Oktoberfest. However, my language teacher said that I couldn't miss out on this piece of Spanish culture. So I went along and I'm glad it's over 🤣.

One thing is really interesting... later on I will explain what happens exactly but in short: the horses, single and with carriges, which run in circles all day, also shit all day. To avoid horse droppings lying around everywhere that you step in, small street sweepers drive around between the carriages. They spray huge amounts of water on everything and brush it thoroughly. This way, all the liquid shit is massaged deep into the cobblestones. The Spanish women in their flamenco dresses then sweep over this soup when they stroll and soak up some of it. Luckily there are also the amazonas on their horses as counterweight regarding emancipation 🤣. Culture is really something interesting.

Besides this funny culture thing, all in all: too crowded, too loud, too bad music, too many drunk people, too bad food and a bad drink called rebujito, a mix of manzanilla sherry, sprite and ice cubes. But also some nice costumes and great sevillanas (the dance) and I definitely love the amazonas on their horses ❤️. But have a look yourself and now I can have a say 🤪.

Like the name suggests, everything happens in Sevilla, the Andalusian capital. The fair generally begins two weeks after the Semana Santa, or Easter Holy Week.

It officially begins at midnight on Saturday, and runs seven days, ending on the following Saturday. Each day it begins with the parade of carriages and riders, at midday, carrying Seville's leading citizens which make their way to the bullring, La Real Maestranza, where the bullfighters and breeders meet.

For the duration of the fair, the fairgrounds and a vast area on the far bank of the Guadalquivir River are totally covered in rows of casetas (individual decorated marquee tents which are temporarily built on the fairground). These casetas usually belong to prominent families of Seville, groups of friends, clubs, trade associations and political parties. There are also public ones.

From around nine at night until six or seven the following morning, at first in the streets and later only within each caseta, there are crowds partying and dancing sevillanas, drinking sherry, manzanilla or rebujito, and eating tapas. This fair also has an amusement park that comes with it and has many games to play along with roller coasters to ride.

I think what happens in Sevilla, stays in Sevilla...Read more