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Last Updated: Sep 14th, 2008 - 22:35:57 |
Seville, the third largest city in Spain, is preparing to host one of its major annual festivals which takes place shortly after Easter.
Feria de Abril, or the April fair, is held in many towns in southern Spain but Seville's offering is widely regarded as the premier flamenco event and regularly attracts over one million people.
The week long party is an around-the-clock extravaganza, featuring flamenco dancing, local food and drink, traditional Andalucian costumes and bullfighting.
Taking place just two weeks after the world-famous processions of Easter Week, the Feria is a noticeably different affair and, with its carnivalesque glamour, emits an entirely different atmosphere.
Originally starting life as a cattle market in 1847, the fair has become one of the most popular festivals in Spain, providing music, culture and non-stop fun.
Seville is considered to be the centre of flamenco music and nearly all the women dress in authentic Flamenco costumes throughout Feria week.
The festivities take place on a temporary tented city which appears just outside the city centre on a piece of land stretching a mile long and 700 yards wide.
The tents, or casetas, are constructed from brightly-striped canvas decorated with paper lanterns and become dance halls for the week, housing rowdy celebrations from late in the evening until six or seven the following morning.
Many of Seville's aristocracy take part in the daily parades, when horses and decorated carriages travel through the city, accompanied by singers and guitarists playing traditional local music.
In the late afternoon, the main events are the bullfights when top matadors from all over the country come to try their luck in one of Spain's most celebrated bullrings.
The Feria, which will take place from April 25th - 30th this year, is an opportunity for the people of Seville to shake off the solemnity associated with the processions of historic statues during Easter week and showcase themselves instead.
While the region, with its collection of impressive architecture and charming villages, is well worth visiting at any time of the year, the Feria represents the heart of Andalucian culture and is a sexy, exuberant yet stylish spectacle that everyone should experience at least
once.
Call Global Holidays for cheap holidays and cheap flights to Seville
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