What is Feria de Sevilla and Why Should We Celebrate It In Spanish Class?

Post revised on April 16th, 2022

Feria de Sevilla is a massive celebration in southern Spain (in the city of Sevilla to be exact) that has worldwide fame. Bullfights. Women in flamenco dresses. Dapper men in trajes tradicionales. Dancing. Family and friends coming together. The fair. And the lights–the fair is ablaze in lights at night. Those are just some of the unique elements that make up La Feria! It is a weeklong festive environment, perfectly placed after the Lenten season & the more somber festivities of Semana Santa–making April/May a wonderful vacation time period for Spanish students!

A Beautiful Memory: I was able to enjoy Feria during my Junior year study abroad in Sevilla! It was magical. My friends at the University of Sevilla who were Spaniards were very excited for Feria. They told me that it was one of the best parties of the year! Then, they asked me if I had a traje de flamenco for Feria. I sheepishly replied that I didn’t have the money to buy a dress that expensive for just a few days. Can you believe that my friends got me a beautiful green and white polka dot dress! It was a loan, but I didn’t care, I was just so touched by their kindness and thoughtfulness. My only regret is that I never got a digital picture of the dress: I only had one of those old school cameras where you develop the film, which I did, but I can’t find the pictures! What a bummer. But I’ll always have the memory of being called “¡Gitana!” as I sassed through the streets of Sevilla in my beautiful and perfectly fitting dress.
-Allison

Feria offers an opportunity to bring a festive environment into the classroom, whether online or in person. As teachers, we can celebrate Spain (Spanish) culture in the classroom through decorations, bitmoji classrooms, or a look at history. Take a look at these Pinterest pins below:

16 Spanish classroom door ideas | spanish classroom door, spanish classroom, classroom door

Spain Classroom door decoration My 2019 multicultural decor | Hispanic heritage month crafts, Door decorations classroom, Spain theme party

We can also take a look at culture through the lens of dance, which should be perfectly safe in a COVID environment (if danced solo & in place).

I intend on having students standing by their desks and practicing the dance movements of the below video. Sevillanas are a traditional dance of Feria, usually a partner dance, but I think it is perfectly fine to dance in place, solo, to master the steps! Take a look at the below tutorial:

The goal is to ultimately be able to dance like this, in partnered style:

You could build a whole lesson plan around this! You could also use my free resource below, which comes from a massive resource that has tons of activities to last a week!

Freebie Download

Link to FREE download: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19yUgP-s5nrAm8GF8UjkfMD-bWbZGyrT8jBnHX_Qwyso/edit?usp=sharing

Link to full AWESOME resource: click here

or click below!