Seville Féria is magical

MY FIRST FÉRIA IN SEVILLE!
The words seem to stick in my throat as I try to describe my first féria in Spain.  Rina, my friend who introduced me to this stupendous event, tried to prepare me with stories from her past but her words did not prepare me for the pageantry, antique carriages, straight-backed caballeros, casetas (tents) or the thousands of fabulous feria gowns.  I was afraid if I blinked, I would miss one and I felt like a little girl turning 360 degrees every few minutes as I snapped photos and stared.

For myself, I was thrilled to wear a féria dress of my own, lent to me by Karen McC, our friend in Seville.  It was created by Lynette M., our hostess who is so artistic, I am still shaking my head.  The skirt was thin, tight in such a way to make me feel like a mermaid...because the only part of me that moved were my feet.  It felt enchanting to walk among these beautifully-dressed señoritas, feel lightning in the air mixed with everyone's excitement.

There were mother/daughter dresses, little girls, young boys, teenagers, seniors, young people everywhere mixed with the old.  It isn't just a generational festival because the camaraderie and dancing was enjoyed by all of them.  Boys and men wore corbatas (ties) and girls and women wore beautiful flowers in their hair to match their gowns.

There were 2,000 casetas (tents) that took nearly two months to build for this one-week event.  These are elaborate tents with power, hard walls, cascading yards of fabric looped from the ceilings.  Tables, chairs and food...and the traditional drink at féria called rebujito is made of manzanilla and 7-up... There were pitchers and pitchers of this drink and it was the first time I'd tasted this sherry.

And music?  Everywhere, I saw men and women dancing the sevilliana.  They were in the street, in front of and inside the private tents.  It was difficult for me to stand still when the music thrummed through the tents.  Watching adults and children move to this fast-paced, fiery music sent me swaying to the beat, wishing I was on the dance floor, in the street or the sidewalk along with them.  I mention these 2,000 tents are private and that means a guard was at the door checking names... and Rina's Salvador talked his way into three of them for us.  One special tent is where I met his sister and her family and my heart filled up as I watched their love for Rina shine through it all.

I said there are no words to describe and I feel humbly shy of doing so.  I will always remember this night, walking, staring, swaying, talking, smiling and snapping photos until my finger hurt.  It was an amazing night in Sevilla.  I am so blessed to have had a dress to wear that made me feel pretty (thank you, Karen), a lovely home to stay in with a charming, artistic friend (thank you, Lynette), good conversation and music with her friend (thank you, Rosa), a gracious introduction to the féria (thank you, Rina) and a catered evening that wouldn't have been the night it was for us without Salvador.

Now, we will take time to rest for a few days!