"FERIA DE ABRIL" OF SEVILLE (24 to 29 of April 2012) Enjoy this incredible festival of Seville with www.spainsouthwest.com (legal assistance and touristic services)

Many people are shocked to find out that Sevilla's extravagant Feria de Abril (April Fair), a week-long festival bursting with a vibrance that only those "carpe diem" sevillanos can pull off, began long ago as a simple agricultural fair. Nowadays, the livestock stalls are long gone, making room  for the colors, music and festivities of this ultimate celebration of simply enjoying life. The week of round-the-clock fiestas begins with the midnight alumbrado, for which Sevillanos and visitors alike turn out in droves to get their first look at the lit up feria grounds. The elated crowd bursts into cheers as more than 22,000 lightbulbs flicker into action, joyfully illuminating the grounds and the towering main gateway, which architects design and construct anew every single year. 



From this moment until the end of the week, the fair grounds – which come to life exclusively during the Feria – brim with the energy created by lively music, dancing and the cheerful colors of those infamous polka-dotted flamenco dresses. Over 1,000 striped casetas line the Feria streets,varying in size from huge tents donning the names of associations or political parties to more intimate versions belonging to families and groups of friends. 



The real essence of the feria lies in these smaller casetas, where everyone knows everyone and which the owners take great pride in decorating like a second home. Large and small casetas alike have music playing, a small kitchen, tables and chairs, a bar serving beer, sherry, and tapas, and an indispensable open space for dancing the joyful sevillanas, the four-part local flamenco spin-off that Sevillanos begin learning from the moment they begin to walk. 

Sevillanas The four-part songs – and accompanying dances - known as sevillanas originated in medieval Sevilla and consist of improvised verses accompanied by flamenco guitar and clacking castanets. To see these joyful sevillanas as they're meant to be seen, follow the locals to Sevilla's Feria de Abril and maybe they'll even teach you a few steps.