Veronica's Birthday

Today was my friend Veronica's birthday. So she had a little party at her apartment in Triana...before we headed back to the Feria. Today was the first day that we wore our trajes -- the typical flamenco-style dresses worn by the women at the Feria. Luckily, Aranoa's sister Noemi had one that I could borrow, because the dresses are really expensive! Along with a traje, it is typical to wear a mantoncillo, which is similar to a shawl with long tassles. Then, of course you have to wear big earrings and put a flower in your hair to complete the look. It's amazing to see the Spanish women dance in trajes. It really is an art form. I have to admit, wearing a traje makes Feria even more fun. It was really neat for me to be able to participate in yet another aspect of traditional Spanish culture.

 

Aranoa and I.

With Aranoa and the birthday girl.

Me.  :-)

Our dancin' shoes.

Mike, Abraham, Maria, Veronica and myself.

All the girls!

Taking a dancing break.

Action shot.  I love this one.

Feria - Day #3

Well you guessed it, back to the Feria again today. More music, dancing, eating, and rebujito. I can't think of anything monumentally exciting to write about, so I'm just going to share some of my favorite pictures. Ole!

Traditional Feria suits for the men.

...from the backside. :-)

Horse-drawn carriages.

A typical caseta, full of people dancing.

Mike and Aranoa, dancing a Sevillana.

The Feria! Ole!

Day #2 of the Feria. This is my second time experiencing the Feria in Sevilla (I was here in 2007 also), and it is just as exciting the second time around! Basically, the Feria is a week-long celebration in Sevilla. Most people don't work at all during the week - essentially the city shuts down - it's pretty incredible. But the women wear traditional flamenco dresses and the men dress up in suits. There are horse-drawn carriages everywhere, live music, dancing, lots of food, and the drink of choice is rebujito, which is a type of sherry mixed with Sprite. Technically, the Feria never closes, so you can find people celebrating at any hour of the day, for 7 straight days! Since this is Spain, the most popular time to be at the Feria is late afternoon...and then stay until the sun comes up. No joke. Then you go home, sleep a few hours, and start the whole thing over again! It's an amazing test of endurance. ;-)

A view of Calle Inferno, where all the games and rides are located.

With Maria, Inma, and Aranoa - my Feria cohorts. :-)

Our first rebujito toast - Ole!

Alumbrado

Today, the Feria officially started!  The opening ceremony is called the "Alumbrado" - essentially, it is when they light the entry arch and all lights in the fairgrounds for the first time at midnight. The tradition here is that people eat fish (mostly fried fish) the night of the alumbrado...but I'm honestly not sure when or why that tradition started. Anyway, the photo above is of this year's portada (entrance arch). They design and build a new/different portada every year, which I think is astounding. The arch this year is modeled after the symbol of Sevilla -"no8do"- and it also commemorates the centennial of the 1st military flight from Sevilla. There are something like 22,000 lightbulbs on the portada - it's beautiful, I think. I live a block from the Feria fairgrounds, so I was able to watch them assemble the portada, as well as the rest of the Feria, which was a neat process.  They started to work on the Feria in January, and everyday for 4 months, there were large crews of men at work. It was amazing to watch what is essentially a square-mile dirt lot turn into a beautifully decorated miniature city. That just goes to show how important the Feria is to the city of Sevilla!

 

A close-up view of the portada.

A view of the airplane.

With Annie and Maggie.

A typical caseta...it's hard to believe that this is a temporary tent, huh?!

Rocio de la Camara

Today was a really fun day at school. We took all of the students to this beautiful park just outside of El Cuervo for a day of "camaraderie-building" between the students, teachers, and parents. Basically, it was just a day to relax and have fun. The day was hosted by the mom's group, and what a feast it was! They cooked all sorts of delicious food, including paella, and the kids all contributed food as well. Besides the food, there were soccer games being played, faces being painted, nature walks being taken, laughing, swinging, running - you name it. There was even a competitive dodgeball match between the teachers and the parents...and I'm not joking when I say competitive. I almost fell over laughing when I saw the principal of our school peg one of the parents HARD with the ball. HILARIOUS. And after the game, the teachers and parents were all rewarded with a nice cold beer - I couldn't believe it. Could we ever get away with having a beer on a school fieldtrip in the USA? Doubtful. Anyway, it was a perfect day...one that I will never forget.

Playin' on the playground.

Me with some of the 5th graders...is it sad that we're the same height?

Getting ready to play dodgeball - teachers vs. parents.

Enjoying a beer with the teachers, after our fierce dodgeball competition.

The students enjoying the feast!

The hermitage at the park.

A Typical Spanish Friday

I love Spanish culture. Have I mentioned that yet? ;-) Today was a wonderfully typical example of Spanish life...more specifically, of life in Sevilla. People in Sevilla live their lives outdoors. When the weather is nice, and even when it's not, people are always out walking, or having a coffee, or a beer, or tapas with friends. Generally, there is no specific plan or time-frame - you just let the day take you where it takes you. And that's exactly what we did today. After meeting up with Annie, Tasha, and Veronica in Plaza Salvador for a beer, Vero and I just let the day take us where it wanted: Bar Kiko for some tapas, and then to this amazing hotel rooftop patio, overlooking the Cathedral. It's a stunning sight. We just enjoyed the afternoon by the rooftop pool, gazing at the Cathedral and the city of Sevilla, accompanied by a glass of wine and hours of great conversation. I love that rooftop patio. And I love this life.

 

Easter Sunday

All my life, Easter Sunday has followed roughly the same tradition: hunting for Easter eggs, a delicious Polish breakfast of babka, Polish sausage, eggs, and horseradish, Easter mass, and then a big family party. This year, however, was quite different. Mom, Dad, and I started the day with mass at the Cathedral, which included beautiful organ music played on the giant organ inside. We then went back to my place to cook paella. Luckily one of my roommates has a giant paellador, which is the large pan in which paella is traditionally cooked. I got an authentic paella recipe from my roommate as well, so we were all set. Before cooking, we took a walk through Parque de los Principes, which is the park just around the corner from my house. It was a beautiful, sunny day and all the trees and flowers were in bloom. Anyway, we made a delicious seafood and chorizo paella, coupled with a salad and a delicious bottle of Rueda wine, one of my new favorite varietals. A girl from China had just moved into my apartment the day before, so we invited her to eat with us. The four of us sat down at our small kitchen table, and had a great Easter meal. It was different - without all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and noise that usually accompanies family holidays - and while we missed the family for sure, I wouldn't have asked for my Spanish Easter Sunday any other way.

Mom and Dad strolling through Parque de los Principes.

Cooking paella in my kitchen.

The final product!

Our Easter table. :-)

Semana Santa

Semana Santa in Sevilla is like nothing else I've ever experienced. It is one of the most important traditional events here - there are tons of people, lots of activity, and the city truly changes shape for a week - but in a good way. All week long there are processions, almost continuously, from the churches in Sevilla to the Cathedral. Each church processes with it's paso, which is a large, wooden float depicting either a scene from the Passion of Christ, or the Virgin Mary - or both. Each paso is ornately decorated, and is accompanied by a large musical band and by nazarenos, which to the untrained American eye, looks very similar to an unpopular group of hooded figures from the South (see photo above). The processions are quite large, and move VERY slowly through the streets of Sevilla. They start at their respective church, walk to the Cathedral, and then process back to their church. The longest single procession takes 14 hours! The floats are carried by men, who are huddled underneath the float, unseen by the public. The floats are extremely heavy, and to navigate them almost blindly through the narrow, cobblestone streets of Sevilla - it truly is a work of art. The procession routes are lined with people, and in some neighborhoods, individuals in the crowds break into spontaneous song. We were fortunate to see this first-hand in Triana, when some women on one of the balconies began to sing a flamenco-style song.

The whole experience is very powerful: the ornate pasos, the music, the nazarenos (many of whom walk the entire procession barefoot), the incense, the crowds of people gathered to watch...words cannot describe it. Mom, Dad, and I were fortunate enough to see quite a few pasos - mostly by serendipity. But every time, we were struck by the power, beauty, faith, and significance of the event.

Nazarenos.

A paso of Christ, making its way through the streets.

The feet of the Costaleros, carrying a paso.

Another paso, moving through the Triana neighborhood, while people watch from the balconies.

A paso outside of the Cathedral.

La Mantilla - the traditional dress during Holy Week, especially Holy Thursday.

A paso dedicated to the Virgin Mary. I love all the candles - especially at night.