{La Feria}

La Feria de Sevilla is a huge flamenco celebration here every April or May. There are hundreds of small tents called "casetas" decorated on the inside and outside to look like houses. Different families, businesses, and social clubs own casetas. Each day thousands of people, all dressed in traditional flamenco dresses and suits, go to the casetas to eat, drink, fellowship, and dance! There is a traditional dance called Sevillanas that I was fortunate enough to learn last year. It's a combination of four different parts with similar footwork and the same arm movements. It's very fun to do but also a bit complicated because you have to move your arms a lot while at the same time moving your feet and also spinning occasionally, but it's very beautiful to watch. During the Feria, there are also tons of rides and food and game stands like you would see at a fair in the US.

These are my sweet friends Miren and Elena who taught me how to dance Sevillanas. One day we went to the Feria and just danced for 2 hours straight.

All the streets along the Feria are lined with beautiful paper lanterns and all lit up at night along with huge, colorful light decorations.

The Feria originally started as a horse fair, so now to continue the tradition, there are lots of horses prancing along the streets and horse drawn carriages that you can ride in around the fair or even take from your home to the fair.

These are the casetas where people spend hours upon hours each day socializing, dancing, eating, drinking, and listening to typical flamenco music. Sometimes the casetas even have live bands. Most of the casetas in Sevilla are private, so to get in you have to know someone and have them invite you. There are a few public ones, but they are typically really big and really crowded.

Me in my Feria getup! Most girls wear huge flowers on the very top of their head in addition to enormous earrings. I'm not so showy, so I opted for smaller accessories. And I loved wearing the beautiful, long flamenco dress covered in ruffles (even though it was skin tight and a bit hard to breathe in at times). Oh and in my mouth, I am eating a snail. They are called "caracoles" and a very typical springtime Spanish dish. Just boiled snails still in the shells that are typically in a spicy soup. You just take it, bit the head, and suck it out of the shell. But beware not to suck the whole thing because of course after I did, a friend said, "No, Lauren, you can't eat all of it because the end part is it's poop!" Thanks. Good to know this after I've already eaten a handful.

Sweet friend Alejandra who also joined us to dance Sevillanas for 2 hours one afternoon.

Dancing = Love

My flamenco dress!! I love it AND got a super amazing discounted price too!! Sometimes people take out bank loans to buy these dresses and there are some incredibly extravagant ones that can cost up to 800 Euros!! It's definitely a competition to see who can have the best dress! And this is my friend Ana who invited me to go to her hometown with her to experience their Feria. Most of the towns and cities in the South of Spain have this festival, but it is not celebrated in the Central or North.