La feria de abril

     This was my favorite week of my semester abroad, a week with no classes when I could appreciate Sevilla's amazing fiesta like a local. During La Feria de Abril in Sevilla the women dress in elegant flamenco dresses and the men wear suits or nice dress clothing. Thousands of tent-like structures fill the fairgrounds in the neighborhood of Los Remedios.

     The feria is spent socializing with friends, dancing, eating and drinking. There is a bar in each feria tent that serves items such as the spanish omlette, sandwiches, fish and meat. The classic drink that people enjoy during feria is a mixture of sprite and sherry, known as rebujito. The drink is served in a pitcher (jarra) and is served with 6 or 7 cups. It is the perfect refreshment to keep everyone hydrated throughout the festival. Sevillanas are a type of dance and music popular in Sevilla, this is made obvious by the blaring sevillanas coming from the feria tents at all hours of the night. There are four parts to the dance and people of all ages dance sevillanas day and night.

     One of the most amazing moments of the feria was having the parents of my friend welcome us into their caseta, to dance and enjoy the early hours of the morning. This scene would have been beautiful to any bystander; happy and pretty girls twirling around the dance floor in their flamenco dresses with smiles that never ceased. I was fortunate enough to be with friends who I had made in the mountains of North Carolina, those who had been apart of my daily life in Sevilla since January and those who I had met that very night.