Chapter 13 - Day 15 Seville
After too few hours of sleep, I joined my fellow travellers for a light
breakfast, during which I profusely apologized for causing them such
distress yesterday. I then suggested a day of activities, based on the
information and knowledge I had gleaned during my day at Seville's
Feria.
With their approval, I began with a little background information about the Fair.
For your enhanced enjoyment, there are pertinent links
in each section, that will open in separate tabs.
Every
Spring, several streets, in the centre of the Andalusian city of Seville, close down and a tent-city is erected that (by 2012) draws over one million people each year. “La Feria de Abril” literally
means the Seville’s Fair or April Fair.
What began, in 1847, as a cattle
trading fair, has evolved, over the years to become an
internationally known celebration of Bullfighting, Flamenco and fun. Seville is considered to be Spain's cultural epicenter of flamenco culture and music.
When is the Feria?
The
fair officially begins two weeks after Easter, at midnight on the
Monday, and runs for six days, ending on the following Sunday. Easter always occurs on the first Sunday following the full moon, while the Sun is in the zodiac sign of Aries. The dates of this fair thus vary from year to year, but usually occur sometime in April.
Where does the fun happen?
The Seville Fair is located in the fair zone called the Real de la Fería along the Guadalquivir River.
A temporary “tent city” is born on a rectangular piece of land that
measures one mile by 700 yards across 12 streets.
SEVILLE FERIA
(click the above link for a short You-tube of the Seville Feria)
12 noon
The Parade
Each
day at noon, the fiera begins with the parade of carriages and riders
carrying Seville's leading citizens which make their way to the
bullring, La Real Maestranza, where the bullfighters and breeders meet.
After the parade, individual horses and their riders roam the streets till the sun goes down and the real party begins.
Men and women are resplendent in their traditional costumes, and even the young ones dress up for the occasion, whether or not they are on horseback.
The famous fair features thousands of individual casetas
(tents) that divide the land
into different dance halls and private areas. They are often set up as bars and decorated with lanterns, paper
flowers, light bulbs, photographs, paintings, mirrors, lamps and more.
Each caseta has its own style and competes to earn a prize.
Access to most of the tents is 'by invitation only' but
some are open to the public so that the many tourists and locals who do
not have connections in high places can still enjoy the April Fair.
Visitors roam around the fairgrounds until they find an open tent with a
good vibe in which to enjoy a drink, watch performances and experience the
atmosphere.
photo by kind courtesy of puntoencuentrocomplutense.es
The famous fair features thousands of individual casetas
(tents) that divide the land
into different dance halls and private areas. They are often set up as bars and decorated with lanterns, paper
flowers, light bulbs, photographs, paintings, mirrors, lamps and more.
Each caseta has its own style and competes to earn a prize.
A well known caseta is called “Er 77” and is famous for pouring wine from buckets and having cots available for naps. The "Los Duendes de Sevilla" (The Goblins of Seville), named after a painting by Alvarez Quintero, is another famous tent in Seville’s Fair. There are many other different themed tents from various groups including left wing politics, anarchists and much more.
The casetas are usually hosted by wealthy families from Sevilla, night clubs, trades union, political parties, or city organizations. Every tent is set up differently with a unique atmosphere and different customs.
The casetas are usually hosted by wealthy families from Sevilla, night clubs, trades union, political parties, or city organizations. Every tent is set up differently with a unique atmosphere and different customs.
The above information is gleaned from
http://www.spanishunlimited.com/spain/culture/2012/1/feria-de-abril-seville
The Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla (Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville) is the oldest bullring in Spain. During the annual Feria de Abril in Seville, it is the site of one of the most well-known bullfighting festivals in the world.
3pm
This link explains the origins and history of the bullfight which begins daily at 3pm, for those who were wealthy, or well-connected enough to procure tickets to this even well ahead of time.
This link shows the order in which the bullfight ritual is conducted.
All day
La Feria of Abril is accompanied by men and women dressed up in their finery, ideally the traditional "traje corto" (short jacket, tight trousers and boots) for men and the "faralaes" or "trajes de flamenca" (flamenco style dress, see flamenco) for women. The men traditionally wear hats (or sombreros) called "cordobés".
All day
Flamenco and SEVILLIANAS
The music and dance of the Feria reveal the gypsy heart of Andalusia. But mastering the grace and exciting fluidity of Flamenco takes skill and practice and is thus not accomplished in a single evening.
Seville has its own version of Flamenco, known as Sevillianas, which is danced with unselfconscious abandon in many of the casetas, especially as day turns into night.
Hell's Street Amusement Fair
If an adrenaline rush is required, the amusement park called Hell's Street is on site.
If an adrenaline rush is required, the amusement park called Hell's Street is on site.
photo by kind courtesy of http://www.seville-traveller.com/seville-feria.html
They say that ignorance is bliss, and the previous day, I had certainly been blissfully unaware of just how extensive the Fair grounds were, once I'd lost sight of my group.
So, today, I was determined that everyone else should have as happy a time as I had already enjoyed in Seville. To that end, I suggested a day's itinerary, based on information gleaned while visiting the private caseta till the wee small hours.
All day
So, today, I was determined that everyone else should have as happy a time as I had already enjoyed in Seville. To that end, I suggested a day's itinerary, based on information gleaned while visiting the private caseta till the wee small hours.
All day
Refreshments
photo by kind courtesy of spanish-living.com
The
most common beverage drunk in during the Seville Fair is Spanish sherry
wine, very famous in southern Spain. Often, to battle the heat of April
in Seville, the Jerez sherry, or manzanilla wine, is mixed with 7-up or sprite to produce a drink known as “rebujito. This link is a video that shows you how to make these cocktails yourself.
The most common food served at Feria is tapas,
which are a wide variety of appetizers or snacks in Spanish cuisine.
They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as
chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid).
After Dark
All-night revellers devote their
time to socializing while eating, drinking and dancing. The Feria "party all night" philosophy and stamina is amazingly contagious!
Our Love Bus group, that had splintered into smaller groups of 2 or 3, gathered in the evening, in the same caseta that had invited me to their private party the previous day. The wonderful family there remembered me, and extended a warm welcome to my companions for a wonderful evening of merriment, feasting and dancing, as their honoured guests. And a good time was had by all. Thus, it was almost dawn before our somewhat inebriated, and extremely tired, group stumbled back to camp to collapse fully-clothed into our tents!
Chapter 13 - Day 16 Seville to Salamanca
photo by kind courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamanca
It was not till early next afternoon that our somewhat subdued and still very tired bunch packed up the Love Bus and headed towards North Western Spain. With Portugal less than 100 miles to the west, our journey took us out of Andalusia, northwards through Extramadura and into Castille and Leon to the ancient university town of Salamanca
Photo by kind courtesy of http://fatherdadman.wordpress.com 
After
two weeks of
camping, and an excess of revelry the previous day, both Anton and I desperately needed a
night without camping - preferably in a large, clean and comfortable bed with a proper mattress. So Anton, whom I discovered also had a knack of making the best
deals, sought, found and booked the two of us into a hotel room for a mere $10 for the night.
The hotel itself was large, modern, warm, clean and comfortable, with plenty of spare rooms, should our companions have chosen to join us.
$10 was, by 1972 British standards, a very inexpensive option to camping. Yet Anton and I were the only ones in our group to avail ourselves of this rare opportunity to luxuriate and properly relax our bodies, mind and spirit after the rigours of Seville's Feria.
Our room was palatial, with a wonderfully intricate mosaic
floor in both the bedroom and the adjoining bathroom. After setting up their tents in the adjoining campsite, our travelling companions visited us, for supper - and simply to enjoy being indoors out of the weather. We all had fun sharing our more risque' Feria stories as we guzzled Spanish wine and picnicked together on that huge floor.
Here in Northern Spain, the weather felt considerably colder than in Seville. And, to our chagrin, it had also begun to rain again. With great generosity and amiability, Anton and I suggested that each person might like to bring their own towel and a change of clothes to our room, so that they could warm up by taking advantage of copious amounts of hot water in the shower of our ridiculously huge hotel bathroom. Needless to say everyone showed up for that golden opportunity!
Our bedroom was equally as gigantic as our bathroom, spotlessly clean and tastefully decorated with TWO huge king-sized
beds, that looked like they could sleep our entire gang. So Anton and I invited all of them - and their freshly laundered bodies - to spend the night there with us.
But at 11pm, just as we were all getting comfortable on those beds, the manager personally arrived at our room, and invited the others to book their own rooms, or kindly leave his premises! Had we failed to eject our travel companions, we too would have been asked to leave the hotel.
Having no choice in the matter, we sadly sent our groaning group back out into the elements, to sleep in their decidedly chilly, rain-sodden tents. But Anton and I refused to feel any guilt, as we climbed into one enormous bed a-piece, and luxuriated in a much-needed deep, relaxing and refreshing sleep.
But at 11pm, just as we were all getting comfortable on those beds, the manager personally arrived at our room, and invited the others to book their own rooms, or kindly leave his premises! Had we failed to eject our travel companions, we too would have been asked to leave the hotel.
Having no choice in the matter, we sadly sent our groaning group back out into the elements, to sleep in their decidedly chilly, rain-sodden tents. But Anton and I refused to feel any guilt, as we climbed into one enormous bed a-piece, and luxuriated in a much-needed deep, relaxing and refreshing sleep.
Coming Soon!
Salamanca - Bordeaux
antipathy, acrimony and abandonment
in
Section 3 - Chapter 14Salamanca - Bordeaux
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