Sevilla's Feria de Abril in Pictures
The Feria de Abril, or April Fair of Sevilla, is one of Spain’s most famous festivals. It combines several Spanish icons: flamenco dresses, flamenco dancing, the Cordobés hat, and horses.
I was lucky this year to have a friend invite me to the Feria, which happened to take place this year not in April, but in May. That’s because it’s held exactly two weeks after Easter, which was late this year.
For me, the Feria de Abril is best shown through pictures, because it really was one of the most visually stunning events I’ve ever witnessed. So here’s a selection of my favorite pictures from a long weekend I spent in Sevilla:
The traditional start of Feria is the “pescaito frito,” or a dinner of fried fish. Here we had a variety of delectable morsels of fried cuttlefish, cod, cazón (vinegary marinated sandshark). And croquetas.
The horse-drawn carriages and traditional dress of the Feria can be found well outside of the fairgrounds.
The horse-drawn carriages and their dressed up passengers mingle with cars and buses on the roads to the fair.
The fairgrounds themselves are filled with carriages. I thought it was great that this is really a living tradition - young people take part just as enthusiastically as older folk.
On the right you can see the casetas lined up shoulder to shoulder along the roads of the fairgrounds. Just about every caseta is private - belonging to a family or social organization. You have to know someone from that caseta to enter.
I would say the majority of casetas are just filled with tables where people sit and socialize over rebujito, the drink of the Feria: manzanilla sherry mixed 50-50 with Sprite. This caseta was a bit different, in that there was dancing…
…accompanied by live music.
The women’s dresses really were the star of the show.
Polka dots everywhere.
There’s a specific formula of the flamenco dress, yet everyone manages to look distinct.
Notice how the women don’t carry purses?
That’s because there’s a secret pocket at the bottom ruffle of the dresses. It requires serious bending over to access, but it’s there for cellphones and wallets!
The horses were also a star of the show.
The Feria was really like stepping into another era.
And the men who ride around in horses get to wear the sharp looking Cordobés hats and suits.
Here’s a group socializing with drinks (probably rebujito), with girls riding behind them.
Again, it really struck me how young people were an equal part of Feria participants, showing how it’s really a living tradition.
Texting while riding.
Horse-drawn carriage traffic jam!
When not wearing the Cordobés suit, the other uniform for men was a navy blazer and khaki pants. Very Polo Ralph Lauren preppy.
It was really like a uniform!
Speaking of uniforms, it’s not a coincidence that these girls are all wearing green flamenco dresses and yellow shawls, with yellow flowers and green stems in their hair. They’re representatives for Sprite, one of the main ingredients for the rebujito drink!
Kids abounded too.
I wonder how many more kids could climb aboard this wagon?
Adjacent to the casetas was an amusement park. I like how the girls got on with their flamenco dresses and all, twirling upside down in full regalia.
At a certain hour, the horses are cleared out of the fairgrounds, and the roads are washed down (because of the manure). The nighttime atmosphere is perhaps even more lively, with people taking over the roads too as the lanterns light up.
Those orange and white lanterns really completed the festival atmosphere.
And here is the Portada, the main gate of the fairgrounds, magnificently lit up at night.
Feria was such a visually impressive event. Without knowing people there though, it might be a bit less interesting, since most casetas are private (there are a couple public ones), and the main activity is standing around and chatting. That’s why I feel so lucky to have been invited by local Sevillanas!
