La Feria de Sevilla

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At 8am on Saturday morning, Laura and I took a bus ride to the 19th century. Well, not quite, but pretty close. We headed for Sevilla to see their festival that occurs every spring. The women dress in Flamenco dresses and the men in three piece suits or riding outfits.

Horses and carriages line the streets, filling quicker with each hour, and the sidewalks are transformed into city-like blocks with ¨casetas¨lined from one street to the next, back to back with others, for five blocks one way and five blocks the other.

In these casetas, there is dancing, the traditional flamenco, eating, drinking and fellowship with friends. However, for people who aren´t from Sevilla, it´s not as fun as it sounds. These are casetas privadas, or private areas, where you must be invited in or have a ticket to pass through the guards. There are at least 300 casetas, all private with their own security. But, they´re no wider than a living room and stretch back only about twice the width.

So, while Laura and I stood outside many and watched the fun inside, we also watched the women walk up and down the streets in their frilly dresses. We have heard that some people get a new one each year to wear to the Feria, but a normal dress costs at least 300€, or almost $500. Little girls from stroller age to the women in their 80s stroll, showing off their particular style or color choice.

The men either wear modern-day suits, or fun riding suits. We saw the cutest little boys dressed up in riding outfits, while their parents took their pictures in front of the horses.

Everything was dirt (except for the street), and what was concrete was covered in a dusty layer of dirt to make the effect of living in another century. Luckily Laura and I have had plenty of experience dodging animal feces here in Spain that the horse poop was no problem!

We left around 7 in the evening, but at night (as we´ve seen on the news the last few nights), the whole fair is lit up and the casetas are alive with music, drinking and food. That is, of course, if you´ve received an invitation.

At the other side of the area there was a modern-day midway with rides of all kinds. We felt like we were back in the States, except for the girls on the rollercoasters in their beautiful dresses!

Overall, we had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy the interesting dress choices, machismo men on the horses and the air of another century in southern Spain!

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Photos

The entrance to La Feria
These fans are lit up at night, but during the day have symbols to represent the pride of Spain.
Sevilla, Spain

A week for all ages!
We got such a kick out of seeing ladies of all ages in their dresses and shoes to match!

Atmosphere
La Feria de Sevilla

Streets of Sevilla Feria
Horses and casetas fill the streets and make an atmosphere of the 19th century!

Private casetas
This is where the crowd sings and plays instruments while women and men dance the traditional dance in traditional costumes. There were even a few little kids out there!

The two of us
Hanging out in Sevilla on a beautiful day!