Yesterday I saw the Macarena hermandad leave for the Rocio for the first time. Living next to the Cathedral for more than 16 years I was quite used to seeing Sevilla leaving on the Thursday of Rocio week, but had never seen any of the other groups. This was also the first time the Macarena passed under the Setas (aka Metropol Parasol) and I managed to get a few snaps.
A few images from the Feria…
Today’s post is by guest contributor Kim from Becoming Sevillana
During my year and a half in Seville, I have been trying to find out what it means to be Sevillana. Some aspects of my British roots are ingrained in me, such as the incessant need to apologise and give thanks unnecessarily, but like most Sevillanos I long for the festive season, for Semana Santa (Holy Week), and most importantly, la feria de abril.
As its name indicates, it is normally held in April, two weeks after Easter, which is later this year, making it fall in May (2nd-8th). It is a week-long celebration revolving around friends, family, eating and drinking. It is a sensory overload – of colour: women sporting their vibrant trajes de flamenca and funnily-named pinstriped casetas lining the streets – and music: the constant melody of sevillanas will definitely be an earworm by the end of the week.
Feria takes place in the Los Remedios area, to the west of the city. The real (feria site) is an impressive 450,000m², a vast space that sits empty for the remaining 51 weeks of the year. The land is divided into 15 streets named after bullfighting greats, and accommodates 1048 casetas – temporary marquee style establishments, where people meet, eat, get merry and of course dance sevillanas.
Continue reading “La Feria de Abril”
only in Sevilla…
Next week is Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Sevilla, starting on Palm Sunday, April 17th. For those who haven’t experienced, or don’t know about it, it’s all about the processions – more than sixty of them during the course of the week, including those of the Madrugá on the Thursday night through to Friday morning. Each procession carries statues of the Christ and the Virgin from its home church to the Cathedral and back again, accompanied by nazarenos and penitentes carrying candles and crosses, and the distinctive music of the Semana Santa marching bands.
Because this is the largest and most elaborate celebration of its kind in the world, people come from all over Spain and even further afield to see it. With such large crowds, especially in the centre and around the cathedral, it is almost impossible for the residents to live normal lives, and for the last 18 years I’ve spent most of Semana Santa pretty much trapped in my flat just up the street from the cathedral. But this year I will be spending it in my new home near the Alfalfa for the first time, and I really don’t know what to expect in the way of crowds and inconvenience.
In retrospect it seems almost prescient that I took this video last year of the Santa Cruz procession, which plays my favourite marcha, the haunting La Madrugá by Abel Moreno. Little did I know that it was going to be the last time I would watch it go past below my bedroom balconies…
This year marks the eleventh edition of the annual Christmas Craft Market, to be held in the Plaza Nueva from this Thursday December 16th until the arrival of the Magic Kings on January 5th.
There will be 72 stalls, more than half with artisans from Sevilla, and others featuring crafts from all over Spain.
Let’s hope the weather conditions this year are better. I remember feeling so sorry for everyone during last year’s rainy winter as this must have kept at least some shoppers away. This is my favourite market of the year and, especially at night with the trees all wrapped in pretty Christmas lights, it’s a very festive atmosphere.
Hours: 11.00 – 15.00 / 17.00 – 21.00
Closed the afternoons of 24th & 31st December
Closed all day 25th December and 1st January