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Sevilla boasts two of the largest festival celebrations in spain. The first, Semana Santa (Holy Week), always spectacular in Andalucia, is here at its peak with extraordinary processions of masked penitents and lavish floats carried bodily by young men. The second, Feria de Abril, is unique to the city - a one-time market festival, long coverertedto a week-long party and drink, food and flamenco. The feria follows hard on the heels of Semana Santa. If you have the Energy, experiance both.
Feria de Abril:
 The non-stop, week long Feria de Abril takes place in the second half of the month. For its duration a vast area on the west bank of the river in the barrio of Los Remedios, the Real de la Feria, is totally covered in rows of casetas, canvas pavilions or tents of varying sizes. Some of these belong to eminent sevillano families, some to group of friends, others to clubs, trade associations or political parties. Each one resounds with flamenco singing and dancing from around 9pm until perhaps 6am or 7am the following morning. Many of the men and virtually all the woman wear wear traditional costume, the latter in an astonishing array of brilliantly coloured, flounced gypsy dresses.
The sheer size of this spectacle makes it extraordinary, and the dancing, with its intense and knowing sexuality, is relevation. But most infectious of all is the universal spontaneity of enjoyment; after wandering around staring you wind up a part of it, drinking and dancing in one of the "open" casetas which have commercial bars. Among theses you'll usually find lively casetas erected by the anarchist trade union CNT and various leftist groups.
 Earlier in the day, from 1pm until 5pm, sevillana sociaty parades around the fairground in carriages of on horseback. An incredible extraveganza of display and voyeurism, this has subtle but distint gradations of dress and style; catch it at least once. Each day, too, there are bullfights (at around 5:30pm; very expensive tickets in advance from the ring), generaly reckoned to be the best of the season.
- See more Fotos
of April Fair.
 Rent this apartment in Seville for Feria: ...more
 Stay
in this beautiful hotel located in downtown Seville: Vincci La Rabida
...Visiting Andalucia?
We highly recomend Rough Guide to Andalucia
For a list of a large seleccion of books on spain. go to - books on spain |
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