Feria de Sevilla!

The Feria in Sevilla is an explosion of colours and light, it’s folklore and traditions and it’s very much fun! The traditional andalucian dresses changes ery year. One year the dresses may have long sleves, another year only straps. The pattern may be black dots on red bckground or pink flowers on yellow and mint basis. It is not like the Norwegian traditional dress bunad, where there are strickt rules on coloures, fabric and pattern. When Camilla made her vest green instead of red, people would make remarks and ask if it was done according to the ‘tradition’. (Hope I got that right Camilla!) Well the tradition of the Flamenco dress is apparently much more open for creativity. Maybe that’s why so many girls and women wear it?!

The Feria is situated outside the city center of Sevilla and it lasts for one week. The whole area is made up of smaller or bigger ‘casetas’, that are tents or houses that you can enter if you know someone inside or if you have a ticket. Pablo have convinced me that the Feria in Jerez is even better than the one in Sevilla because eveyone is allowed to enter in any caseta, there are no restrictions.

Inside the casetas you talk, drink (the typical drink of the Feria is the Rebujito, a mix of Manzanilla/sherry and 7up with a lot of ice), dance, sing and eat tapas. It looked as if almost all the people knew how to dance Sevillana. Some even playes the castanets. I didn’t dare to get on to the dancing floor, think I would need some more outsiders with me to have the courage! I left Pablo to dance with the sevillian girls.

The Feria goes on the whole day and night. The caseta becomes your home and your home is your bedroom, according to the people here. I thought flamenco dresses, fans, castanets, sevillanas and horse parades were more spectacles for the postcards that a real living tradition. I was certainly wrong.