La Feria de Abril

For those that don’t know, Feria de Abril in Seville is the spring fair/festival that always follows two weeks after Easter Sunday. As you can tell by the name, it’s usually in April but because Easter was so late this year, it ended up being in May. It lasts eight days, Saturday to Saturday, with horses and carriages, an amusement park, what is basically a small city of casetas (temporary buildings for dancing, eating and socializing) and thousands and thousands of people, dressed up in suits and flamenco dresses. It is one of the busiest places I have ever been, and on top of that, I was wearing a heavy, long sleeved (stupid decision on my part) flamenco dress in 80 degree, sunny weather. But I couldn’t care less. I had probably one of the most amazing experiences ever at Feria. I’m already planning on coming back next year, and I’m still recovering from it four days later.

Like I mentioned before, there is an amusement park at Feria called La Calle de Infierno, or Hell Street. It’s named appropriately for how crazy it is. There are an insane amount of people running around, rides, ferris wheels, games, funhouses and food stands. While I don’t mean to discourage whoever is reading this, it’s super expensive, and I thought it was really similar to the amusement parks in the US, so I didn’t really go to it. My favorite part of Feria, and the main part that I went to, was the casetas. Even though they were really hot and crowded, there was music and dancing and so many smiling, happy people that I just never wanted to stop being around that environment. I don’t think I’ve ever danced more in my life, and I am not good at dancing, especially the sevillanas, the traditional dance(s) of Seville or flamenco dancing. But I was just having such a good time that I stopped caring if I was making a fool of myself and just danced the best I could with a smile on my face. At night, Feria is lit up all over la calle de infierno, the streets running past the casetas and at La Portada, the huge gate/entrance to Feria. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of Feria at night, but it wouldn’t have captured it well anyway. 

Feria de Abril is one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life, if not the best. Just reading about it in another blog made me want to come, and let me just say, it was better than I thought.