Then you cannot miss the Feria de Abril (The April Fair) in Parque del Fòrum! It is the Catalan version of the Andalusian Fairs. The most famous one is held in Seville (that is why the fair is also called “Feria de Abril de Sevilla”).
The word Feria originates from the Latin term feria, feriae. With this word Romans marked the days with no civil activities devoted to religious cult. The first Feria dates back to 1847, thanks to the authorization of Queen Isabel II. During 1920s, this celebration reached its peak and became one of the symbols of the Andalusian culture.
The Feria in Barcelona does not have, as you can imagine, the same popularity as the Seville's original celebration, but it is certainly a great event and an occasion to discover the traditional Sevillanas dance and much more.
The Feria de Abril is divided in two different areas as per two different themes.
The first one is the amusement park area, with many attractions like candy floss, shooting galleries, ferris wheel and similar attractions.
The second and main theme is the “casetas” area. The term casetas, individual decorated marquee tents which are temporarily built on the fairground, means little houses in Spanish, and in each of them you can find different groups dancing Sevillanas, eating Spanish food – such as chorizo, patatas bravas, bocadillos – singing traditional songs aloud.
In my opinion, the most beautiful feature is the huge amount of colours, dresses and people – from children to the eldest of grandparents – that you can find in the Feria. You will be fascinated by sophisticated dresses, different sounds and people.
Regarding to apparel, men wear the traditional “traje de corto” (short jacket, tight trousers and boots) and women wear “faralaes” or “trajes de flamenca” which is a flamenco-style dress.
If you love folklore, to be in the middle of crowd, singing and dancing flamenco, next year you should visit the Feria de Abril. You will absorbed by the Andalusian atmosphere.
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