All last week women walked around Sevilla in flamenco-style dresses, complete with matching shoes and earrings, and combs and flowers in their hair. The men dressed up in suits to accompany them to the Feria, a week-long festival full of visiting casetas (fancy tents), dancing Sevillana (similar to flamenco), drinking rebujito (the signature drink of the Feria) all day and all night long. The festival was situated down the block from my home stay, so all week the street was teeming with people and taxis coming and going at all hours. My favorite part was the dresses. They are beautiful in a very elegant and feminine way, coming in every imaginable color and pattern, and look good on everyone who wears one.
The festival opened and closed with light. At midnight on Monday, the first night of the Feria, they lit the entrance to the festival grounds along with the strings of lanterns that adorned the lines of casetas. Sunday night they closed the Feria at midnight with an amazing fireworks display over the Guadalquivir river.
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| Opening night of the Feria, just before midnight. A huge crowd filled the streets outside the fair grounds to watch the lights. |
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| The entrance in all its glory. |
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| A few of the hundreds of casetas set up for the Feria. The insides are set up like actual restaurants, with tables, chairs, a bar or kitchen area, and a dance floor. |
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| Inside a caseta. |
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| Inside the Feria |
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| A vendor selling various sweets and nuts. |
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| I think these are enormous versions of those gummy sour straws. I took this picture because when I saw them I though of Colleen and Brian, who would have gone crazy seeing these on display. |
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| Most casetas are private/invitation only, but we made friends with some girls who invited us to theirs for dancing and rebujito. |
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| All the girls dancing, led by one of the musicians. |
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| Vicky dancing Sevillana |
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| Tilden and Anne Byrd enjoying rebujito. |
