The
Seville Feria is well under way now, in its third full day, and has so far escaped the rain which was forecast, which so ruined Semana Santa - although the car park I used yesterday left a layer of unsightly yellow mud on my shoes.
These are the vital statistics of the Real de la Feria de Sevilla 2011 (Seville Fairground 2011).
Area of fairground: 450,000m2
Total area including car parks; 1,000,000m2
Blocks: 25
Streets: 15
Casetas: 1047 (25 individually-owned family, 501 shared family, 310 organisations, 192 peñas, two municipals, six districts, 11 municipal services)
Light bulbs: 161,000 (15W) and 53,650 (25W)
In a word, it's a big place, full of thousands of people drinking vats of sherry and eating truckloads of
jamon serrano, mariscos and queso curado. There are dozens of mule and horse-drawn carriages, from which to look down in comfort on everyone else, and many
jinetes too, with their striped suits with cropped jackets, and flat Cordoban hats.
The Feria is an amazing sight, but it is best experienced from inside a
caseta, welcomed by a warm Sevillano host, with music playing, and Sevillanas being danced as skirts twirl and hands are held aloft.
Here are some photos of the Feria yesterday (Wednesday) - note the fashion for the new mini-shawls, with a fringe over the neckline of your dress, either decolletage or back. I saw a few matching bolero jackets too (as worn by Kate Middleton over her dress at her evening wedding party). I love the crazy colours, the mini-feriantes, the horses...
A note about my photos: I am still experimenting with my new camera, so these people are not the bizarre orangey-brown colour they appear.
