Feria de Abril Sevilla by Lauren Anderson

Feria de Abril – one of Spain’s most beautiful and cultural traditions. The Feria is a week-long event that begins two weeks after holy week. The Feria’s origins date back to 1846 and is one of most important and famous celebrations in Spain.

The Feria is held in the Los Remedios neighborhood in Sevilla, which is the neighborhood I lived in! Seeing the traditional decorations and hearing the music playing throughout my neighborhood during the week of Feria was such an amazing and cultural experience. No classes were held this week so that everyone could enjoy and celebrate.

During the Feria, women dress in a traditional flamenco dress and compliments. Men dress in traditional suits. The weeks leading up to Feria my host mom helped me to find the perfect dress and compliments. In almost every store you can find accessories for the Feria. This included finding a shawl, flowers, earrings, and brouche to match my dress. Having this experience with my host mom is something I will remember forever, and is such a beautiful reminder of the Spanish culture.

This colorful celebration attracts tourists and people from around the world. The celebrations start each day around lunch time and end the following morning around 7am after a long night of dancing! You can see people arriving in decorated carriages, paseo de cabellos, and hear Sevillano music all throughout the streets. The Feria is known for it’s casetas, which are tents owned by families, businesses, and organizations. These are private, however, there are also many public casetas so that everyone can enjoy the celebrations of the Feria. The portada, the entrance to the Feria, is lit on the first night, and stays lit until the end of the week – marked by a firework show along the river. Each year the portada is themed differently and you can see the portada’s of the past on display through artwork all throughout the streets!

The Feria is a beautiful celebration of the Spanish culture that I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience. I definitely hope to be back one day!

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