Feria

I have now seen the first couple days of la Feria, and I think it's almost as big as Semana Santa. Some Spanish people save up their money all year for Feria. The casetas (tents) and rides and games and food carts take up so much space, I wonder what they do with that space during the other weeks in the year. Many, many women dress in bright flamenco dresses. I took the special event bus to Feria on the first day and saw all these colorful skirts standing in the long line that went down the block. Traffic was so bad, it might have almost been faster for me to walk. It's about 45 minute to an hour walk from my apartment to the Feria.

Once I got to Feria, I noticed a lot of horses. Sometimes it's hard to cross the street, there are so many horses trotting about. There are no cars in Feria, but it's interesting to see horses with carriages venturing out into the street and mingling among the cars. A horse and carriage carrying people in traditional Andalucian garb looks a bit out of place among the buses and taxis. Riding in a carriage is very expensive, and is a sign of status.

I think I mentioned casetas before. They are temporary tents people set up for the week of Feria. They serve food and drinks inside, and people dance "sevillanas" to the music they play. Some of the casetas are very elaborate inside. I saw one with lovely decorations, including a fountain! Remember, these are only set up for this one week out of the entire year. Most casetas are private, and they have security at the entrances to make sure only owners and invited guests come in. (This is another sign of status.)

Luckily, I visited Feria with a friend who knew a Spanish person who had access to a caseta. We went in and spent some time munching on little desserts and watching people dance. Spaniards learn to dance from a very young age. I saw a couple of little girls who looked about 5 years old dancing. Angel tells me that everyone learns to dance young, though some are better than others. It is more common for the women to pursue their dancing talents.

The food looked very good, there were tapas everywhere. It was all very expensive, though, so we didn't order any. Apparently Feria has its own drink, the rebujito. It's manzanilla (white wine that is "muy suave") with 7-up or Sprite. Feria has rebujito, Semana Santa has torrija, I wonder what foods and drinks are characteristic of the other holidays.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Lagos, Portugal, and I get back on Sunday night. I don't think the reality of my upcoming exams will sink in until then, when I scramble to make the most of my last week of classes. There's not a lot I can do to prepare before we do our class reviews, though. My portfolio for my seminar is almost done, and I just have to put together a short presentation on Jews in Spain for next week. I think this is all managable.

Pictures:
1) crowds and casetas
2) a game where you try to throw a shoe and hit George Bush (sound familiar?)
3) mom and daughter wearing matching flamenco dresses
4) dancing in a caseta
5) a couple of my new Spanish acquaintances, plus Brittney
6) one of the many carriages
7) a giant dish of paella
8) part of the amusement park portion
9) more matching dresses
10) little children riding miniature cars in their flamenco dresses and "trajes cortos" (short suits)
11) even the little ones in strollers get dressed up
12) men in trajes cortos on their horses
13) ladies in flamenco dresses waiting in line for the bus to Feria
14) the house of terror
15) rides, rides...
16) and more rides