Sevilla tiene un color especial

La feria de Abril is a celebration of spring unlike no other unique to Spain and largest in Seville.  It is what I have been waiting for all semester.  This year was the 300^th celebration of La feria in Seville and I am so happy to have been a part of it.  The celebration officially starts Monday night with the illumination of la entrada (“entrance”) at midnight and continues for a week.

There is an area in Seville known as the feria grounds when the festival takes place each year.  During the off season, the neighborhood is deserted.  The streets of feria are lined with decorated casetas (“huts”), some public but many private.  Each caseta has its own kitchen, bar, bathroom, and dance floor.  Some of the larger ones even have stages to host bands throughout the week.  My dad and I were very lucky and had access to three private casetas which we could enter at any time.  Two of them were owned by friends of Charo and the third belonged to los bomberos (“firefighters”) who we had made friends with on Sunday before the start of feria.  The people in each caseta were all very friendly to us but the firefighters were especially welcoming.  When they learned my dad is also a firefighter, we were flourished with free food and drinks for the rest of the night.  It was extremely generous and I know my dad was glad to see that the firefighters in Spain are known to have the same warm and hospitable attitude as the firefighters in the United States.

Walking into the feria grounds is like walking into another dimension of time.  No cars are allowed on the streets, only horses and horse drawn carriages.  All of the women are dressed in beautiful flamenco dresses, each one different from the next.  I have fallen in love with flamenco dresses because the fish tail style is flattering on every type of body.  Since each dress is unique, they cannot be compared.  Each woman adds personality to her dress by accenting it with big, bold jewelry and sporting a matching flower in her hair.  Before heading to the feria grounds, my dad and I stopped to have a cervecita ("llittle beer") with Charo so that she could see my outfit.  She was very impressed, especially with my hair.  It was very "sevillana" and I was happy that it made her smile.  I could tell she was proud of me.  

The first night all of my friends were dressed up.  We had a great time and felt like we fit right in.

In each caseta, we were surrounded by nothing but flamenco dancing.  “Sevillanas”, a famous flamenco song and dance, seemed to be playing nonstop.  We had the opportunity to try some flamenco ourselves, although it is a hard dance to master.

Much like Semana Santa has its traditional dessert, La feria has a traditional drink.  It is called rebujito and during La feria it is rare to see anyone drinking anything else.  Rebujito is a mixed drink of 7-up and manzanilla.  It is sold in each caseta but a lot of Spaniards also buy both the soda and alcohol to make the drink themselves. 

As I said before, La feria is unlike anything I have ever experienced.  Each caseta is like a wedding reception and all together they make the biggest, classiest, most-Spanish party I have ever attended.  It is a festival to not be missed and one I would definitely attend again.

Wednesday was my dad’s last day in Seville before heading back to the States.  We spent the day in Italica, a small town outside of Seville with old Roman ruins.  Even though I had been to Italica before, I knew my dad would enjoy seeing the old amphitheatre and Roman mosaics.  We had a lot of fun together and I enjoyed spending time with him.

We were tired when we came back from Seville and decided to pass on feria because we both had to be up early.  Instead, we went to Rinconcillo to have pigs’ cheeks one last time.  At the bar we met a couple from England who were on holiday in Seville.  I was able to give them some advice about the city and answer some of their questions.  They were great company and we held great conversation all night.  Even though we had planned to retire to bed early, we ended up chatting with them pretty late.  I didn’t mind at all because I was able to spend more time with my dad and could put off saying goodbye as long as possible.

My dad's Spanish twin we found at the bar!
My dad even has a shirt almost identical to the one his twin is wearing!

Needless to say, the night eventually came to an end and so did my dad’s vacation in Seville.  I was so sad to see him go which is just a small indication of how much fun we had together.  I don’t want to leave Seville but I can’t wait to see my parents again when I return to the U.S.  I already know that it is going to be a bittersweet goodbye when I leave Spain in June.