Seville's Feria By Day

Imagine an annual week-long city celebration. A thousand of Seville's elite families, businesses and associations erect sizable casitas (tent buildings, some quite elaborate) on the fairgrounds just across the river from the old city. Each casita has its own kitchen and bar and facilities and can accommodate 50 or more; some many more. The parties go on 24/7 for seven days. Music, dancing, drinking, partying. The women dress up in flamenco dresses and perhaps 1% of the men in traditional caballero garb, the rest mostly in business attire. When things get slow, the elites parade around on their horses and in their buggies. There are even 6 or 8 publicos, places where the preterites--those of us without connections or invitations--can go, sit down, have a drink, watch, dance, pee. And there is also a sizable amusement park (two ferris wheels!) adjoining, for the additional amusement of those without invitations but who are looking for fun. We knew about the feria and timed our visit in Seville to occur in the middle of it. It is an extraordinary affair--culture, family, business, music, dance, dress, food, drink--and we wanted to see it both by day and in the evening. It is unlike any other pageantry we have seen or heard of.

A typical casita

Inside another...mid-afternoon, mid-week; business in
Seville adjusts its hours accordingly (except for the tourism
business; one sees few obvious tourists at the feria)

A larger casita

It's a very family thing

Parade time

Main gate to the fairgrounds

Caballero

The parades go on and on, quite colorful

Woman mostly ride side-saddle...understandably

This is the main street to the amusement park--maybe a
kilometer in length, packed

Posse

Most all the thousand private casitas have their own
security, some conspicuous, some less

Interior of another casita

Another

Here's the listing of all the casitas...our first visit was on a
city-wide holiday, so the buses were running on a reduced
schedule, and we had to get back to Camping Villsom, in
Dos Hermanas, before they stopped running; we resolved to
get back to the feria another day, or night