Mary in Sevilla: Feria

I have been working on my Paris post, but I'm going to take a break to tell you a little bit about about Feria, because it is pretty much the most amazing event I have ever been to.

The Feria de Abril began in 1847 as a livestock fair and eventually evolved into what it is today. It is always held two weeks after Semana Santa, so it's usually in April but is later this year because Easter was so late. Usually Feria falls in the midst of classes and exams, but this year we get to end our study abroad experience with the most amazing fair in the world!

The Feria fairgrounds are huge, and are only used this week. They are located far away from my house and across the river in the neighborhood Los Remedios. People set up casetas, or tents on the fairgrounds to make a temporary city. The tents are elaborately decorated with thousands of paper lanterns, and they are so ornate that they look like miniature houses. The casetas are hosted by various aristocratic families, who invite all their friends to show off their wealth. Most of the tents are "invitation-only," meaning you can't get there unless you know the right people, but some are public.

During the day feria is full of horses, carriages, children in flamenco dresses and sevillanas. During the night there is a completely different atmosphere of bullfights, rebujito (manzanilla wine and sprite,) and dancing sevillanas.

Nearly every woman wears a gypsy-inspired flamenco dress. All of them are beautiful, form-fitting with a layered skirt at the bottom. Some are more elaborate than others, but they can include bright colors, ruffles, lace, embroidery, polka dots or all of the above. Women wear big earrings, shawls (mantones) and flowers in their hair, either on the tops of their heads or on the side. The elaborate outfits sound silly, but when the entire city is dressed for this week-long costume party, it is simply incredible.

My host sister Ana has been planning her flamenco dress for Feria since February. She drew out pictures, cut out photos from magazines, went downtown for the fabric, got it made and fitted to her, bought all the accessories. Since dresses are so expensive, she gets a new one every two years.

Two of my friends, Delaney and Stephanie, were able to borrow flamenco dresses from friends of their senora. Another one of my friends, Colleen, received money from her grandmother specifically to buy a dress, and spent a week going shopping until she found the perfect one.

As much as I wanted one, I never had the intention of buying a flamenco dress. Alice and I decided we'd wear little black dresses and dress them up with flamenco accessories: flowers, belts, maybe a shawl, combs and jewelry.

Alice, Colleen and I were downtown looking for said accessories when I found it. I decided to try on a dress, just for fun. It was too much fun, so I tried on another, and another. And then I tried on The Perfect Dress. It was a light lavender color, with flowers, a thick layered skirt and frilly sleeves. It fit me like it was made for me. And the best part: it was about a fifth of the price of the cheapest flamenco dress in any normal store.

When I came outside the dressing room Colleen gasped and told me "Mary, it's not everyday that you find a dress that pretty, that fits you that well, the day before feria. It's meant to be."

I justified myself because I had been planning on traveling to Lisbon this weekend, but had ended up not taking the trip. I would have spent far more money in Lisbon than I was spending on the dress. And so I bought it.

That day began the crazy week of photoshoots, friends, churros, manzanilla, ferris wheel, horses, blisters on my feet, meeting new people, people-watching, and best of all, dancing the night away and one of the most incredible weeks of my life...