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Last year we went to Sevilla for Semana Santa, which
is Holy Week. It is one of the most traditional religious events in Spain
and it topped any other event we have been a part of. Once we came back,
everyone was asking me "have you been to the Feria de Abril? Have you been
to Feria? You must go!". Funny thing is that every single person telling
me to go had not been there themselves.
Of course, put a challenge in front of me....
The thing about the Feria de Abril is the fact that
the festival happens slightly outside of town, on the Seville fairgrounds.
If you really want to be part of things, you must be invited into a
private caseta, which is one of over a thousand private "tents" setup
to host the friends and families of the caseta owners. Casetas range from
small, hosting about 50 at a time, to ones hosting thousands, National Police,
for example, or political parties. All Casetas represent companies,
associations, fraternities and have been in the families for decades.
Every year the owner must renew the "license" in a very
bureaucratic way, and if they don't do it, they lose their rights forever, as
the waiting list to get one is the size of the list for the Victoria golf
course times 100.
So a year ago a plan was hatched: I told everyone I
knew that I wanted to go, but needed a caseta. They all laughed because outsiders
getting invited into a family caseta is not something that happens. But
then again, I am not an outsider when it comes to making things happen.
A very good Spanish friend of mine, Jose Antonio,
told me that he thought his family had a caseta in Sevilla, so he was going to
ask. He did, and immediately he and I were invited to come. He has
never been to the Feria, and it was a great excuse for him to go see his aunt
and uncle who own the caseta and his 5 cousins.
So I booked my hotel, train, and packed my suit, which is a must to hang
out in the caseta, and waited for the day. Feria happens a few weeks
after Holy Week and is the biggest party in Spain.
I left Zaragoza on Friday morning and in
just over 3 hours on the fast train I was in Sevilla. I arrived to 32C, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. I left
my things in the hotel and went to the Feria. On the way, I encountered
many women dressed in traditional Sevillanas (Sevillian flamenco dress) and I
could tell this was going to be fun.
The entrance to the fairgrounds are adorned with a
huge gate that is different every year and the new design is chosen through a
competitive selection process. This year
the entrance was fashioned after the Plaza de Espana square, which was featured
in the Star Wars II. Inside, you are met with a feast for your eyes and
your nose: thousands of women dressed in the Sevillanas, men, women and children
on horses, all dressed up in special outfits. Truly - it is like going
back several hundred years. Needless to say, my camera shutter was
overheating from all the action - so much to see and capture.
As my friend Jose Antonio arrived in the afternoon,
we headed to his uncle's caseta, where we were warmly greeted and told the key
things to know about drinking and eating all in balance, and how to feel
like VIPs, as they told us we were their guests, and that meant everything was
taken care of. The next two days and nights were full of sights, smells,
tastes and experiences.
Some of the key highlights were meeting Ana Rosa
Quintana, who is married to my friend's cousin. She is a very famous TV
personality, so pictures were in order. Later we met Alvaro Palacios, who
is a major wine maker and innovator in Spain, we also met the CEO of Tuenti who
sold the company to Telefonica for 70M and a number of other celebrities that I
did not recognize. In the end, they are just people and we just happened to
party with them.
On Saturday, we were treated to a horse drawn
carriage, dressed in our Sunday bests, to take us to the corrida. The
bullring in Sevilla is very famous and we had the best seats in the house:
right behind radio announcers, by the gate where the bulls are let out.
With a few cigars, millions of pictures and a spectacular show in the
Mecca of the bullfighting, there was nothing missing. We were living it
up.
A special mention goes to Jose Antonio's aunt and
uncle, who were super hosts. They made sure we were well taken care off, with
food, manzanilla, rebujito, vino fino, pescadito frito, and jamon. A very special thing happened, where I got to
meet a local Sevillan artist who painted the walls of the caseta with pictures
of bullfighting and a famous bullfighter. I had a lovely conversation and
commented how much I loved the paintings. Just so happens, the uncle
kindly cut up the walls of his caseta after the Feria, and I now have 4 huge
paintings in my house! In exchange, I sent some very nice pictures of him
and his wife and some pictures of the cousins encased in nice frames. We
were all very happy with the exchange of experiences and hospitality.
In the end, the experience was as my Spanish friends
told me - an experience of a lifetime. The only difference: I lived it :)
Tengo ganas para volver!
Ole!
