Semana Santa  

From 17 to 23 March 2008. These celebrations are famous for their statues of the Virgin Mary with canopies: they are Baroque statues with silver and gold crowns, embroidered cloaks and velvet tunics which only reveal face and hands.

 

Is a week long Holy Week that celebrates the week of that Jesus was crucified and ends on Easter Sunday.  It is celebrated throughout all of Spain, but is considered to be the best here in Sevilla.  Throughout the week, there are processions each day which consist of the brotherhoods of each church that carry (pasos) floats from their church to the main cathedral and back.  The floats can be extremely large, and many are filled with candles and a representation of Virgin Mary or other Biblical scenes.  These floats can weigh up to a few thousand pounds which require much practice, strength, and practice of the brotherhoods to be able to carry them for such long distances.  This is also a great week for students, because you will receive the whole week free from school!!  

Seville has been holding its Easter week celebrations since the 16th century, and they have become universally famous. Some 50,000 people put on traditional robes to parade in the 58 organised processions, while the "costaleros" carry the pasos (religious statues) on their shoulders. There are processions in the evening and at night every day. Each brotherhood sets out from its church and has an established route, although they must all pass the so-called “official section”, which starts in Calle Campana Street and finishes passing through the Cathedral. Once each procession has left the Cathedral, it returns to its church on a different route to that followed on the way out. The saetas are very emotional moments of the processions: these are flamenco songs, recited a cappella from the balconies in honour of the statues.

The early hours of Good Friday constitute the most important time of the Seville Easter week celebrations. That night, some of the most venerated statues make their way through the streets, such as Jesús del Gran Poder, la Macarena, la Esperanza de Triana and elCristo de los Gitanos. The streets of the city fill with people and with emotion all night and well into the following morning. We would, however, recommend patience, because the waits to admire these beautiful statues tend to be long.

You can see processions by heading for any point on their routes, except in the “official section”. Here there are seats and stands from which to admire the passing processions. If you would like to reserve a place, contact the Consejo Superior de Hermandades y Cofradías (Brotherhoods’ Association) on tel. 902 995 275, or via their website.

Easter week is one of the most spectacular and emotional fiestas here. Religious devotion, art, colour and music combine in acts to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ: the processions. Members of the different Easter brotherhoods, dressed in their characteristic robes, parade through the streets carrying religious statues (pasos) to the sound of drums and music – scenes of sober beauty.

Feria de abril de Sevilla 24 to 29 April 2007

 

From 8th to 13th april 2008. For one week life in Seville revolves around this fiesta. The music, food, dancing and general joy create a very special atmosphere.
 

This extravagant week started in 1847 and was a cattle show with less than 25 tents.  Now this week consists of more than a thousand tents which are small bars.  The festival is filled with lights, food, horses, and of course dancing.  People also come from all over Spain and the world to see this wild festival.  The holiday starts on Monday night at midnight and ends on Sunday night with a firework show. 

The April Fair is one of the most international and popular of Seville’s fiestas. It was created in 1847 as a cattle fair, and over time the festive atmosphere that had grown up around the occasion took over the business aspect, and it became a permanent fixture in Seville’s social calendar. For a week more than a thousand “casetas” or tents installed in the fairground area become the second home of the city’s inhabitants, a place where people come together to have fun and share experiences until the early hours of the morning.

 

The fiesta officially begins at midnight on Monday with the “lighting test”, the illumination of the thousands of multi-coloured light bulbs in the fairground and adorning the main gateway, which is almost 50 metres high and has a different motif every year. Once inside the gate you come to the “casetas”, and it is here where you really experience the fair. These tents belong to groups of friends and associates, and are a family space where acquaintances, relations and guests are welcomed in and plied with delicious food and wine; there is singing, good conversation and of course, "sevillanas", the local version of flamenco dancing. The lively and festive atmosphere spills over into the area outside the tents: people usually dance in the street, and the friendly personality of the Sevillian people will entice passers-by into the celebration. You should bear in mind that most of the stalls are privately owned and can be entered only by invitation from the members or their friends. There are however public tents which are open to all. The information office at the entrance to the fair will tell you which they are.

 

Throughout the fair, people wear typical Andalusian dress: the men wear the typical outfit of the farmworker, and the women wear flamenco or gypsy dresses. By day the fair is filled with horsewomen, riders and richly festooned carriages. This is what is known as the horse and carriage parade, in which you can take part by renting a buggy with a driver from the regular service. Next to the fairground is the Calle del Infierno (Hell’s Street), a lively recreational area with a host of attractions for children and adults, and stands selling cold drinks and snacks. Another vital component is the bullfight: every afternoon people crowd into the Plaza de la Maestranza bullring to see the day’s bullfight (tickets and passes can be bought in advance by telephone or on the Maestranza bullring’s own website). And after a week of merrymaking there is a spectacular fireworks display at midnight on Sunday to send off the April Fair for another year.