It’s not so long till the beginning of Feria de Abril. From 6 till 11 of May Seville will transform into a place of endless dancing, singing, eating and drinking. Feria de Abril is an event organized in Seville in which thousands of people participate every year. During this week the home of many residents of Seville moves to Real Feria Square, where they dance sevillanas, sing, drink Rebujito and eat.
Feria de Abril is a huge flamenco-party with a rather private nature. Even though almost the whole city is celebrating – they do it in separate tents called Casetas. Casetas can vary in size – some of them tend to be small and can accommodate only a few dozen people, but there are also casetas-giants, which can be filled with several thousands of people.
Even though Feria de Abril is a celebration of flamenco it is not true that all Seville residents know how to dance it. It is true, however, that almost all of them can dance sevillanas – a folk version of flamenco typical for the region of Seville. Sevillanas consists of four stanzas and can be danced in pairs or in groups of four. Texts of sevillanas usually speak about love, joy or even about Seville itself.
However, without a doubt, the most important thing during Feria de Abril is the outfit. Seville turns into a true fashion capital… Capital of flamenco fashion. There is no outfit more “Spanish” that the one associated with flamenco. Flamenco dress or a gypsy dress, as it’s called here in Andalusia, definitely goes beyond the categories of a regional outfit. Flamenco dresses evolve with fashion - depending on trends – they can be more or less colorful, shorter or longer, with two or several flounces.
Flamenco outfits are usually associated with long dresses with flounces in various shades of red and orange. Accessories are also necessary: huge flowers, different colored combs, long earrings, beads and shawls. Flamenco fashion, although dates back to more than a hundred years ago, blooms each year, with new designs, colors, patterns and accessories.
While walking in Seville you will surely come across a number of shops selling trajes de gitana, or offering to sew a dress specially made for you. These stores are primarily owned by well-known fashion designers of flamenco clothing. It is common to buy or sew a new outfit every year, always fitting into actual trends. Are you ready to the biggest flamenco fiesta of a year?
