This reading and listening exercise is about the Spanish festival La Feria de Abril<\/em>. This is suitable for level B1<\/strong> Spanish students.<\/p>\n Every year, two weeks after Semana Santa<\/em><\/a>, Seville bursts with even more colour and life when it celebrates la Feria de Abril<\/em> (the April Fair). Originally, the fair was a livestock fair but over time it has grown into a six-day party starting at midnight on Monday and finishing the following Sunday. Officially, there are no holidays; children attend school and people still have to go to work. The first night is called el Alumbrado de la Portada<\/em>, because the main entrance to the fair ground is lit up at midnight. Traditionally, people agree to meet by the portada<\/em>. The site itself is full of stripey green or red marquees called casetas<\/em> and there is a large area next to the casetas<\/em> with an amusement park called la calle del infierno<\/em> (Hell road) probably because it is incredibly noisy and full of people! During the day, people go to see los paseos de los caballos<\/em>: horse carriages and also single riders who dress in the traditional amazona<\/em> suit with wide brimmed hats. The casetas<\/em> are owned by important local families, clubs, associations and even political parties. Music plays non-stop, especially sevillanas<\/em> that people dance to. There is plenty to eat and drink, mostly people drink fino<\/em> or manzanilla<\/em> wines and eat all kinds of tapas, like tortilla de patata<\/a>, fried fish and cured ham. Of course everything ends with a bang, there are fireworks at midnight on the last day!<\/p>\n Sevillanas<\/em> are a traditional song and a traditional dance. The dancers are either two women or a man and a woman; it is always danced in pairs. The song itself is divided into four, with each section also being called a sevillana<\/em>: la primera<\/em>, la segunda<\/em>, la tercera<\/em> and la cuarta<\/em> (the first, the second, the third, the fourth). All four sevillanas <\/em>have the same chorus and there are specific steps for each of the four sevillanas<\/em>. The video below is a traditional sevillana <\/em>sung by a popular group called Los amigos de Gines<\/em>. Gines is a small village just outside Seville.<\/p>\n Here are the vocabulary lists associated with this reader:<\/p>\n Watch the video, then read the transcript. Click any phrase for the translation and links to related grammar lessons which you can add to your Kwiziq notebook<\/a> to practise later.<\/p>\nBackground<\/h3>\n
Vocabulary<\/h4>\n
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Exercise: La feria de abril<\/h3>\n