CARNAVAL

Each February, Cadiz holds its exuberant Carnaval in the period around Shrove Tuesday, the run up to Lent. In fact the name Carnaval derives from carne (meat) as traditionally the eating of meat was forbidden during the 40 days of Lent. Nowadays Carnaval means normal behaviour is put on hold, with seemingly everyone in fancy dress costume enjoying the atmosphere and the local wines. Cadiz carnival is seen as one of the most colourful in Spain, with decorated floats and various groups touring the streets and bars, singing and acting out sketches based on events and people in the public eye. The streets of La Vina in the old town are a good place to experience the atmosphere, although most of the towns in the Cadiz bay area join in the celebrations.

SEMANA SANTA

Semana Santa or Holy Week is celebrated throughout Andalucia, although by far the most extravagant and elaborate celebrations take place in Seville. The processions start on Palm Sunday and run throughout the week until Easter Sunday, although some of the most important take place during the early hours of Good Friday morning. Floats or pasos, bearing extravagant religious images of wood and silver, are carried through the narrow streets. These are flanked by members of the brotherhoods called Nazarenos, who wear long robes and pointed hooded hats. Thousands of people line the streets to watch the processions of these sacred images. Holy Week has been a tradition since the 15th century, when its original objective was to inform the people of the Gospels through recreating the Passion of Christ. It has evolved over the years (originally people would whip themselves during the procession, while today Nazarenos do penitence), but in essence this festival has remained unchanged over the centuries.

FERIA DE ABRIL

All of the towns in Andalucia celebrate their own feria which normally lasts for a week. Chiclana’s feria is normally held around the feast of San Antonio (13 June). However, by far the biggest feria takes place in Seville. Two weeks after Easter, Seville comes alive for the celebration of the famous Feria de Abril, a typical festival full of song, dance and good food. The April Fair started life over 150 years ago as a cattle fair lasting three days, but in its present form, the Los Remedios district becomes a tented city of over 1,000 casetas and a sprawling fairground. The casetas are temporary tents used as meeting places for groups of friends, companies or associations, some requiring guests to have an invitation to enter. However there are casetas with free entrance. During the day, you can see a beautiful colourful show of both riders and horses, as women usually go to the fair dressed in the traditional gypsy or flamenco dress. Men usually wear the traditional traje corto with wide brim hats. In the evenings, (and well into the early hours) the casetas become the focus for traditional singing and dancing sevillanas, as well as for drinking much sherry and manzanilla. Food plays an important role during the fair, and you will find a wide selection of tapas to tempt your tastebuds.

JEREZ HORSE FAIR

The Feria de Caballo takes place in the second week of May, and is a splendid opportunity to witness the fabulous horses for which this region has long-enjoyed a reputation for quality. During this festival, visitors can see processions of horses and carriages that will participate in that day’s competitions, and in common with other ferias in Andalucia, the people enjoy the festivities dressed in their colourful flamenco dress, while sampling the local sherry. Like other ferias, singing, dancing and dining takes place in the casetas.

BULLFIGHTS

Various bullfights are programmed for before and during the April Fair. Tickets can only be bought in the ticket office several days in advance of the fight. It is not recommended to buy tickets anywhere other than in the ticket office at the bullring or the official ticket offices located in the main streets of the centre, as the touts tend to ask for double or triple the original price. The structure of the ring is divided into various zones with different prices. Those in the sun (sol) are cheaper than those in the shade (sombra), for example. There are also three divisions according to the distance from the central ring, barrera, tendido and grada, this last being the high covered area furthest away from the centre.

ROMERIA

This was originally a pilgrimage to a local shrine or church to express devotion to the Virgin Mary or a local saint. Now the romeria has now become the festival that accompanies the pilgrimage. These are often characterized by a procession of elaborately decorated cars, people on horseback, agricultural vehicles and the town band. The most famous of these pilgrimages is El Rocio, when more than 1 million pilgrims from all over Spain and Andalucia descend on the tiny village of that name in Huelva province. This reaches a climax in a fiesta over the weekend in the run-up to Pentecost Monday, 31 May – when the statue is brought out of the church.

VENDIMIA DE JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA

Grapes are harvested in late August and September, and the event known as La Vendimia, is often accompanied by a fiesta. In most of the winegrowing districts the wine harvest festivals commence in mid-September. However the Fiesta de Otono in Jerez officially starts on 8 September or the weekend closest to it. Over the course of the few days that the festival is celebrated, there are many public ceremonies and general partying, and the festival is usually accompanied by a horse show, motorcycle race, concerts and of course flamenco.

FERIA DE LA MANZANILLA

Organised by the town council of Sanlucar de Barrameda, this fair marks the importance of the Manzanilla dry sherry that is produced here and there will be plenty of opportunity to try it. Townspeople tend to dress in traditional costume and celebrate with dances, parades and a horse fair.