The April Fair of Catalonia (''Feria de abril de Cataluña'') is an annual event held in the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

capital of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It usually takes place over the last week of April and the first week of May. In 1971, immigrants to Barcelona from

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, and their descendants, began their own version of the Seville Fair, ''Feria de abril de Sevilla''. Since then the Barcelona event has grown to become the second largest Spring Fair in Spain. The fair is currently held at the

Parc del Fòrum {{Infobox park , name = Parc del Fòrum , photo = Barcelona desde el mar - panoramio (6).jpg , photo_width = 300 , photo_caption = Parc del Fòrum seen from the Mediterranean Sea. , type = Public park , loca ...

fairgrounds, a large area on the shores of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, which is covered with rows of ''

casetas Casetas is a borough of Zaragoza (Spain) located 15 km west of the city. Management Casetas is a population entity that is 14 km (9 mi) from Zaragoza, its administrative capital. From July 1, 1879 by decision of the City Council o ...

,'' colorfully decorated marquee tents which are temporarily set up. Most of the casetas are sponsored by cultural associations created by and for

n immigrants and their descendants. There are also casetas sponsored by the cultural associations of other ethnic groups, such as

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

ns and

Moroccans Moroccans (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who are of Moroccan nationality, s ...

, as well as others sponsored by political parties. A major difference between the Barcelona and Seville events is that the casetas in Barcelona are completely open to the public. In the casetas, food and drink are served, people either dance on dance floors, or are entertained by musical performances, usually by

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

dancers and singers. Throughout the fairground, many men, women and children walk around dressed in traditional "trajes de corto" (short jacket, tight trousers and boots) and "trajes de flamenco" (

style dresses). The main sponsoring organization is FECAC, the Federation of Andalusian Cultural Groups in Catalonia, or ''Federación de Entidades Culturales Andaluzas en Cataluña''. Also see Fira de Cunit : https://web.archive.org/web/20140503191649/http://www.cunit.cat/noticies/30042014_programa-de-la-quotferia-de-cunit-con-sabor-andaluz-quot

External links

FECAC: Federación de Entidades Culturales Andaluzas en Cataluña

Photos of the Fair on the FECAC website
Culture in Barcelona Festivals in Catalonia April events May events Recurring events established in 1971 1971 establishments in Spain Spring (season) events in Spain {{Europe-festival-stub