«The world’s most colorful Party.»

Light, colour, and a lot of joy. Every year, Sevilla is taken over by its ‘Feria de Abril’, the fair of all fairs, a microcosm where the idiosyncrasy of the city unfolds with all its charm and power of seduction. The first night is known as La Noche del Pescaíto which sounds interesting until you translate it to ‘Fish Night’. It simply refers to this being an evening when traditionally fish is eaten for dinner. After dinner people head for the Portada’ which is the beautiful structure at the entrance to the Feria where thousands of lights are switched after it is time to head for the casetas, crack open the sherry and let the Fino Sherry and let the partying begin. Tueday is the first official day of the festival when there are horseback parades through the fairground with the women wearing beautiful flamenco dresses and the men in their traditional suits known as ‘el traje corto’. Seeing these finely dressed ‘Sevillanas’ at the Fair it is easy to understand why the poet Byron referred to Seville as being “famous for its oranges and women”! The birthplace of flamenco lies just across the river in the barrio of Triana so it shouldn’t come as a great surprise to learn that the colorful dresses are known as ‘trajes de gitano’ or ‘gypsy suits’.