Feria de Abril

Feria de Abril: the 50th anniversary of the Barcelona festivity

Everything you need to know about Feria de Abril Barcelona

Avatar Kenya Barcus

Every year, Barcelona hosts the annual Abril de Feria Barcelona at the Esplanada del Fòrum in Barcelona’s Diagonal Mar area. Admission is free to the feria area and to all casetas. This year, the 50th anniversary of la feria came to Barcelona April 21st until May 1st. Feria de Abril is a festive affair with many ‘casetas’ (tents) music and lots of ‘Sevillanas’ dancing.The festival has authentic, food and drink from the Spanish region of Andalucía to enjoy both the fairground area and the sevillanas music and dancing.

History of Feria de Abril

Every year, Barcelona celebrates this feria the same style of the many ferias in the south of Spain, the most famous of which is the Seville Fair, Feria de Abril de Sevilla. The origins of the Sevilla fair can be traced back to 1846 when it began as a livestock fair, where farmers would come to sell their animals. But in 1971, some societies of Andalusian immigrants living in Barcelona and Catalunya decided to celebrate their own Feria de Abril de Barcelona. They started out with only 4 casetas in the seaside suburb of Castelldefels. Nowadays, it’s become the most attended  event of Catalonia, with 1.5 to 3 million people visiting every year. That is more than the population of Barcelona. It is organized by the FECAC, the Federation of Cultural Andalusian Societies in Catalonia, with over 140 federated clubs.

Casetas

The “Casetas” are essentially tents or booths where people congregate to eat, drink, listen to music, and dance. Private and public casetas are typical in Seville and the rest of Andalucia. The access to the private ones is limited to members and their visitors and is controlled by families, clubs, and associations. But in Barcelona, all the casetas are open to the public, so anybody may enter and feel welcome to join the celebration. The Barcelona Feria de Abril features about 70 casetas that are painted with white and colored (red or green) stripes in the traditional style.

Music

In order to preserve the traditional atmosphere of the Feria de Abril de Cataluña, it’s not allowed to play international music in the casetas. What is most commonly played throughout the feria and casetas is Flamenco music, typical from Andalusia.  From all the flamenco varieties, the most popular in party settings are Sevillanas, which are happy melodies with a certain rhythm that matches a simple routine danced in pairs. This allows for plenty of traditional flamenco styled dancing to be seen all throughout the tents and in the streets.

Food

Traditional Catalan food is sold all throughout the feria. Local venders and family restaurants take to the streets and provide the people with authentic cooking and dishes that are highly admired in Barcelona. These dishes include paella, fresh meats and seafood, empanadas, and a variety of unique desserts.

Clothing

Although in Seville you’ll see all the local ladies dressed with spectacular “trajes de flamenca” also known flamenco dresses, in Barcelona most locals that aren’t part of a Andalusian folklore club don’t own one. These dresses can be found in Flora Albaicin near la Rambla, and even shops at the feria will be selling these traditional outfits. Sequins, polka dots, and bright colors are all very common in these traditional flamenco dresses. It is common to see girls and women wearing this attire and participating in traditional flamenco styled dancing.

All of these fun activities is what makes the Feria de Abril Barcelona unique, and holds a lot of the cities culture. Celebrating 50 years of tradition, this event is treasured by the city of Barcelona and will continue to grow in popularity for years to come.

Kenya Barcus

My name is Kenya Barcus and I am an Erasmus student studying abroad at Universitat de Abat Oliba CEU. At my home university, Western Kentucky University, I am a double major in Broadcasting and Spanish, and am continuing my Communications classes while abroad.