The Festival of Spring ☀️
Last week I was spending some time with the apple of my eye, my girlfriend. It was a beautiful day which is a rarity nowadays with the dreary and rainy days being the status quo. We were contemplating as to how to make the most of this day. I was just checking my google maps as I have a list of saved restaurants categorised into "want to go" and "favourites". One of these "want to go" places is Hakata Senpachi in Amsterdam. A traditional Izakaya that serves something me and my girlfriend both love; yakitori. The hearty caramelised chicken with the iconic charcoal smell.
Photo for evidence and your entertainment.. or jealousy.
Nowadays it is forecasting the weather like our ancestors. Stick your head out of the window and analyse the clouds with your gut feeling. I am longing for sunny days and warm nights; drinking whatever and eating here and there
I long to be on a festival in Sevilla. Why Sevilla you may ask? Because at the start of Late April to May you will find the Feria de Abril
Feria de Abril
The fiesta of fiestas at the foot of La Giralda, the famous bell tower of Sevilla.
A feast of seven days, two weeks after Easter when the delightful scent of the orange blossom meets the Manzanilla and hangs as a delicate veil over the city. In Sevilla people celebrate day and night for a week. For fiery cheerfulness, go to Los Remedios in the south. A spectacular gate with thousands of coloured lights (bombillas) forms the entrance to a huge party area that covers 1 million square meters, 15 streets and 26 'neighborhoods' spread over 1050 casetas standing side by side.
The partygoers shuffle through the alleys, there is dancing everywhere, women in flamenco dresses are rocking and turning. Heels clack on the wooden floors and the casetas bring a compelling groove to the rhythm and now and then horse riders in festive outfits gallop through the alleys, sand and sawdust drift up. A mixture of fun fair, dance and show. A great spectacle for all senses in the narrow streets, the aromas of braised meat, roasted sardines, fried fish, meatballs in red pepper sauce, grilled shrimps, sweets, sherry and wine, lots of wine.
The range of tapas is inexhaustible. The tourists drink wine, the Andalusians prefer sherry. Hundreds of thousands of liters of vino and manzanillo are consumed during the Feria. The sherry at the Feria is produced only in San Lucar de Barrameda in Cadiz. A pale sherry that is unbelievably dry and quite delicate. The taste has an advantage, a bottle of Manzanilla has to be finished in one go because as soon as you open it, the taste is already fading
History
The fair began in 1847 as a presentation for livestock, and at that time the casetas that were built to line the streets had a sole purpose of keeping the businessmen protected from the radiating Andalusian sun. Now the casetas have evolved into private family bars, restaurants, and dance floors. This small agricultural fair has transformed into a celebration of Sevillano culture with more than 1,000 casetas pressed side by side.
Bullfighting
Feria de Abril is famed for its bullfighting. Andalusia is one of the hotspots of bullfighting in Spain and the Feria celebrates just that.
In the Real Maestranza, the atmosphere during these spectacles is unlike that in any other bullring in Spain. Where the norm is that the bullfighting is just a feature besides the drinks and the social aspect. The bullfights in Maestranza are the focal point of attention. Earning a reputation for itself as one of the hardest venues to perform at in the world.
Exclusivity
A small remark before you get too excited and book a ticket to Sevilla. The festive is exclusively for the people of Sevilla. So if you are an outside or a tourist you will get rejected quite often. Here is a story of someone going to Feria de Abril.
"Have recently returned from a Round The World trip during which we spent six weeks in Spain. The trip was absolutely fantastic, but there is one aspect from our visit in Spain which I would like to bring to your attention. One hears a lot about the Seville festival and how it is something not to be missed. We arrived in the afternoon expecting to be able to visit one of the casetas. Surprise, surprise the casetas are only open for invited guests. Needless to say we were extremely annoyed as all the hype about visiting a caseta and sampling the typical Spanish cuisine and seeing flamenco dancing was a complete misrepresentation of the truth. We ended up getting something to eat and drink at a cafe opposite the fair. Discussing our disappointment with the locals in the cafe they informed us that the Seville Festival is for the people of Seville."
Tik-tak toe
Luckily there are a lot of public casates where you don't need an invite and can just hop in the party and grab yourself a glass of Manzanilla. Even though you are not invited, this video will give you an insight into the atmosphere of a caseta.
The only thing for you to do is learn some flamenco and you probably get invited to dance in a caseta and meet a handsome Sevillian girl or man. Here is an example, just don’t disturb the neighbours.