The Seville Fair (officially and in es, Feria de Abril de Sevilla, "Seville April Fair") is held in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain. The fair generally begins two weeks after the

Semana Santa Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

, or Easter Holy Week. The fair officially begins at midnight on Saturday, and runs seven days, ending on the following Saturday. Each day the

fiesta ''Fiesta'' (Spanish for "religious feast", "festival", or "party") may refer to: Events *Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day event held every April in San Antonio, Texas *St. Peter's Fiesta, a five-day festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts *Fiestas d ...

begins with the

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

of carriages and riders, at midday, carrying Seville's leading citizens which make their way to the bullring, La Real Maestranza, where the bullfighters and breeders meet. For the duration of the fair, the fairgrounds and a vast area on the far bank of the Guadalquivir River are totally covered in rows of ''casetas'' (individual decorated marquee tents which are temporarily built on the fairground). These casetas usually belong to prominent families of Seville, groups of friends, clubs, trade associations and political parties. From around nine at night until six or seven the following morning, at first in the streets and later only within each caseta, there are crowds partying and dancing sevillanas, drinking Sherry, manzanilla or

rebujito Rebujito is a cocktail invented in Andalusia that mixes sherry ( Manzanilla or Fino) and soft drinks, typically white lemonade or lemon-lime soda. Rebujito is a common drink in Andalusia, and is typical at the Seville Fair The Seville Fair (of ...

, and eating tapas. This fair also has an amusement park that comes with it and has many games to play along with roller coasters to ride.

History

The Fair dates back to 1846 when it was originally organized as a livestock fair by two councillors born in Northern Spain, Basque José María Ybarra and Catalan Narciso Bonaplata. Queen

Isabel II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

agreed to the proposal, and on 18 April 1847 the first fair was held at the Prado de San Sebastian, on the outskirts of the city. It took only one year before an air of festivity began to transform the fair, due mainly to the emergence of the first three casetas, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of

Montpensier The French lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne, became a countship in the 14th century. It changed hands from the House of Thiern, to the House of Beauj ...

, the Town Hall, and the Casino of Seville. During the 1920s, the fair reached its peak and became the spectacle that it is today.

Location

Since 1973, the ''Feria de Abril'' takes place at the Real de la Feria, an area of 24 blocks (450,000 m²) which is located between Los Remedios and Tablada. In 2012 there were 1048 ''casetas''. The streets of the Real are named after famous bullfighters such as

Juan Belmonte Juan Belmonte García (14 April 1892 – 8 April 1962) was a Spanish bullfighter. He fought in a record number of bull fights and was responsible for changing the art of bullfighting. He had minor deformities in his legs which forced him to des ...

and Pascual Márquez. Next to the Real is the ''Calle del Infierno'' (Hell Road), an amusement park which offers many recreational activities; a circus is usually set furthest from the Real on the back of the Parque de los Príncipes. Construction of the ''portada'' (the main gate) starts months in advance, and it takes several weeks to clear the place after the end of the fair. Plans to relocate the Fair to the Charco de la Pava have existed for the past 20 years, but the local government is yet to present any plans to transform the Real. For years the Charco de la Pava has been used as the main parking lot for fair attendees.

Pescaíto

Saturday night in the ''Feria de Abril'' is referred to as ''la noche del pescaíto'' (night of the fish) due to the fact that fish is the traditional dish to have for dinner. Celebrations officially start at midnight between Saturday and Sunday when the lights of the ''portada'' are turned on. This event is called the ''alumbrao''. People gather in front of the ''portada'' to watch the ''alumbrao'' and then go to the casetas to have dinner and spend the whole night at the Real.

Future fair dates

The 2020 Feria de Abril was scheduled from April 25th to May 2nd. However, on March 15th 2020 the fair was postponed to September due to the coronavirus pandemic in Spain.

Image gallery

References

External links

Feria de Abril 2010

The 2006 Feria de Abril (April Fair)

* ttps://archive.today/20130124204610/http://picasaweb.google.com/kenybuey/20080412FeriaSevillaLasMejoresFotos Photos Seville Fair 2008 "Feria de Abril"
Seville Fair 2008 video in YouTube
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