Ever since I arrived, everyone has been telling me of the magnificent Sevillan fair, supposedly known far and wide for being quite the spectacle. Unlike your typical merry go ride, pie contest and corn dog eating contest county fair, the Sevillan fair is an elegant, cultural event. The week is a pause from the daily bustle to live in true Andalusian style, return to the local roots, enjoy the company of your friends and family, and eat plate after plate of table served chef specialties. The fairgrounds remain a vacant, dusty lot for most of the year, until the first tents spring up in April. The layout has two areas, the “little homes” and the “street of Hell.” The little homes are private tents, each with a full kitchen, bar, and wait staff, almost mini restaurants. The rides area has become commonly known as the street of hell, because walking down the only audible noise is the riders’ screams of terror and delight.
The catch is, you have to be invited to enter one and without an invite, the security guard won’t let you through. Members of associations receive a given number of invitations every year to give to whomever they please and this is where having lots of friends is very important! Though there are a few public houses, they certainly fail to deliver the same experience. Small houses could include just a family and their acquaintances, while larger ones are owned by big employers and welcome their employee and their cousin. In total there are more than a thousand little homes! A day at the fair begins around two for the mid day meal, followed by hours of eating and drinking, coffee sipping, fresh churros, more eating and drinking, and dancing until five in the morning!
As Marie Carmen put it, “This my dear is the fair. The people eat, drink, enjoy themselves and forget about their worries for a week.”
Walking down the streets between the little homes are men and women dressed in full flamenco attire. The dresses, starting around $200 and reaching $2,000 for designer brands, are meticulously custom fitted and cared for and accompanied with all the accessories. Knowing how to dance while wearing one is thankfully optional.
We had a lovely and impressive five days at the fair and visited over five little homes thanks to Marie Carmen’s warm and welcoming friends. We enjoyed plate after plate of spinach croquettes, fried peppers, potato omelette, calamari prawns, hams, and cheeses.
I had the pleasure of welcoming Larry and Ellie Bonicelli, dear friends from Augustana Lutheran Church, into town on Saturday and we enjoyed a beautiful Flamenco show. Sunday they had the opportunity to meet my host family and a taste of the fair complete with churros and chocolate at Seville’s number one churros spot!
Happy Feria!
Becca
Mi Vida En Sevilla 