Feria

The Feria del Caballo here is a BIG DEAL.  Such a big deal that it deserves all caps.  I'm pretty sure this is the most important event of the year, even bigger than Semana Santa and Christmas put together.  The Feria del Caballo (literally Horse Fair/Festival) is basically a week long festival/party that takes place on the fairgrounds here in Jerez.  Lucky for me the fairgrounds is only a fifteen minute walk so I'm fortunate that I can walk there.  The city has been setting up for the feria since mid-March, that's over a month and a half.  It's when all the women dress up in their flamenco attire, there are casetas which are booths that either have restaurants or you can buy a drink and it's an open dance floor.  Flamenco music is played and the women and men break out in the sevillana dance which is what we think flamenco is, but flamenco is the dance and music put together, not just one or the other.  Horses parade around in the afternoon and you can take a carriage ride around the fairgrounds.  Sunday evening was the first day of the feria and there were fireworks before the first offical lighting of it.  There are lights all over the place that come on at night time and so it was jam packed that night.  Cars park in the most illegal spots ever and they are parked all the way up to my own block it's been that crowded.  The feria goes on all day, from early afternoon until late at night so it's pretty much a week long celebration.  Yesterday I went with some teachers after school and me and two of the other female teachers dressed up in the gitana or traditional attire.  We ate in a caseta where there were a lot of tapas and then sandwiches with chicken, ham, and a pepper to top it off.  Sherry flows abundantly here, especially in the drink called rebujitos which is a mix between sherry (usually Tio Pepe) and a 7-Up or Sprite variety.  Sherry isn't really my drink of choice, but the rebujito isn't too bad, although I'll take a tinto de verano over that any day.  We went to several different casetas and in one of them one of the teachers attempted to show me how to dance the sevillana.  I'm definitely no pro, but it was still fun and I have a short video of it. 

Here are some examples of how important and big the feria here is.  In some of my private classes I've had I've asked what their favorite time of year is.  Several of the responses were "feria" and this was months ago.  I'm pretty sure for the past month at least once a week driving to work the one girl I drive with would always say, "Mira a la feria!" or "Look at the feria!"  Case in point:  On Monday she said this.  It started on Sunday and I've been twice.  My roommate has been everyday and I'm pretty sure she plans on going everyday.
I might post another blog on the feria if I go again this weekend or if I have forgotten something, but here are some pictures from the first night when it was lit up and when I went with some teachers.

With my roommate at the feria.

So pretty!

With some teachers from school at the feria