feria!

I know you’re tired of hearing this by now, but “Wow!”

After having heard about and seen pictures of the feria, I was looking forward to seeing it in person. But I have to say that being there, in the middle of all the color and life and action and the sound of hooves and wheels on cobblestones, was far better than I had imagined.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. In the morning we had a guided tour of the city by bus and on foot. Our first stop was the Spanish Square (Plaza de Espana), where we had been briefly once before. We learned that the beautifully painted tiles around the base of the semicircular building depict a variety of stories from Spain’s history. From here, we went to the Santa Cruz neighborhood (Seville’s old Jewish quarter), which is a maze of extremely narrow, crooked lanes that lead into a series of very small plazas. From the second of the plazas we visited, we followed yet another little alleyway and ended up in a lovely large plaza with the alcazar (the moorish-inspired medieval royal palace) on one side and the cathedral on another. Seville’s cathedral is the third-largest in the world, and it’s quite an imposing, ornate edifice.

In the plazas around the cathedral were a large number of the tourist carriages that we had seen all around town on previous days. These aren’t your typical tourist turnouts, though. Many of the carriages are antiques, and nearly all of them are kept in beautiful condition. The horses look fit, healthy, and lively. Everyone in our group commented on how impressed they were with the apparent good condition and cleanliness of both the horses and the carriages. It’s clear that these drivers (all licensed) take great pride in their work and their turnouts.

one view of Seville’s cathedral

We went into the cathedral with Raimundo, who had met us along our walk, and our tour guide and what seemed like thousands of other people. It’s a huge space, and it was packed with tourists.

And then it was on to the feria! The day we went was, apparently, also the day that most of the inhabitants of Seville go as well. The first full day of the feria, we were told, is an official holiday in the city so that anyone who wants to can go to the fair.

For anyone unfamiliar with the idea of the feria: the “fairgrounds” are like a village of colorful tents that look like small houses. These are arranged side-by-side on three long cobblestone streets with quite a number of cross streets. Between the tents (casetas) and the streets are packed-dirt sidewalks. In the casetas (almost all of which are invitation-only) are people sitting and eating and drinking and visiting with friends and watching the spectacle. And what is the spectacle, you may be wondering?

There are horses (nearly all Andalusians, and many stallions) being ridden by men, women, teenagers, and small children, all in traditional Andalusian dress. And there are hundreds of carriages, including many antiques and a couple of coaches, being driven with singles, pairs, fours-in-hand, and fives-in-hand. Many of these are in the traditional Andalusian harness — pom-poms and bells galore. So the riders promenade through the streets of the “town,” stopping for drinks at their own or friends’ casetas along the way. And the carriages, too, promenade through town, stopping in front of their casetas to pick up and drop off passengers, probably family, friends, and clients. And weaving in and around all of this are probably thousands of people — walking on the sidewalks and in the streets. Most of the women are in the fancy, colorful Andalusian dresses, whereas the men all seem to be wearing suits. This is probably the best-dressed fair I’ve ever been to.

Enjoy these photos of the feria, as our group heads home. I’ll be in staying in Spain for a few more days and will continue to post a few thoughts and photos here along the way. Then, starting in May, be sure to check back here for the CAA’s blog from the Royal Windsor Horse Show!