The ingenuity of the Sevillians will ensure that they do not run out of their most anticipated party
When the month of April, in Seville , several things happen. It is the time when spring reaches its peak and that causes the streets to smell intensely of orange blossom, the bars to fill with people enjoying the small pleasures of life and in the Real the last light bulbs and lanterns are placed that will give light and color to the most awaited party: the April Fair.
But this year, for obvious reasons, there will be no booths, no cover, nor the mythical Alumbrao that opens the first Saturday of the fair. There will be no women wearing beautiful flamenco dresses, nor sevillanas dances. There will be no horse-drawn carriage rides, no rumbitas, no brass bands animating the cotarro until dawn. This year, at the Seville fair, it's time to stay home.
Although if someone really thought that the Sevillians were going to sit idly by, it is because they know little about Seville's mood. And it is that, just one day from April 25, night in which the 2020 fair would be inaugurated, A thousand and one initiatives have already been orchestrated to bring the fair to homes.
A START AS GOD SENDS... FROM THE LIVING ROOM
The fair always opens with the mythical Pescaíto dinner: that's how it is.
That night, friends and family gather in their booths to enjoy company and set foot for the first time this year in the Real —that is, the fairgrounds—. But what happens when an evil virus decides to disrupt the plans? There are already several fry shops in the city that have announced that, if the mountain does not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed will go to the mountain.
Let's go: they take the little fish home so that no Sevillian is left without his fried choquitos, nor his anchovies with lemon, nor his cod pavía. Missing more!
And the success of the initiative has been such that some of the businesses have had to hang the 'full' sign: “There are so many orders that have come to us, that we since Wednesday we had to stop accepting them”, They tell us from Freiduría Mara, one of the pioneers in the proposal.
Another option is, of course, prepare your own dinner for the Pescaíto at home, although you have to handle certain culinary art for this because not everyone knows how to manage between stoves to make this a success.
For that very reason, Bodegas Barbadillo has promoted, under the hashtag #CocinaElFescaitoEnCasa, an initiative championed by Chef Juan Palomo -of The Admiral's Tavern — with which a total of eight Sevillian chefs offer a series of cooking tutorials in which they shape a menu with which to enjoy the great day in Sevillian ways.
Thus, Juan Palomo himself explains how to the best salad with melva canutera; Gonzalo Jurado, of Tradevo, how to properly fry fish; Conchi Inchausti, from La Barra de Inchausti, how should cook the shellfish "as God intended"; or Lucas Bernal, from Cotidiano Bar, how prepare the most exquisite whiskey sirloin.
But it goes beyond. Barbadillo also encourages, through the hashtag #LightingontheBalcony, a celebrate the mythical Alumbrao of the fair from home: Every year the inauguration of the festival does not only consist of the little fish, but also in the lighting, at midnight, of the thousands of light bulbs that illuminate the famous cover and the streets of the fairgrounds. An event attended by thousands of Sevillians eager to launch the fair in a big way.
And how to do it from home? Very simple: from the website that Barbadillo has designed for the occasion the Sevillian is encouraged to look handsome and to turn off the lights that can be seen from the street a little before 12. "At 12 o'clock turn them on and applaud for sevillanas because the #FeriaEnCasa begins."
Eah: what better way to start the party?
THE THING IS GOING FROM LANTERNS AND CATAVINOS
But of course, it is well known that there is no self-respecting fair without lanterns adorning booths and streets: much less the one in Seville. And in this sense they have been fast from the hotel products company gate , which offers those who really want to take the matter seriously, acquire the Fair Booth Kit at Home. And what does it consist of? In a package consisting of a typical Sevillian table, two folding chairs, a case of manzanilla, catavinos and, of course, the corresponding lanterns.
Something similar has been proposed by different wineries such as González Byass, La Guita or the aforementioned Barbadillo, which also offer in their online stores packs with their bottles and various beads to decorate houses and balconies.
La Guita, in fact, has also launched a challenge with which draw 200 chamomile boxes that will be distributed among the winners and those heroes of this crisis —health, police, pharmacists, members of cleaning services…— that they choose: as simple as take a photo on the balcony or window of the house —there are already those who are adorning them with all kinds of props—, dressed in flamenco dress —them— or short —them—, and upload it to Instagram with the hashtag #YoVivoLaFeriaEnCasa.
WE WILL HAVE TO DANCE, RIGHT?
If the issues of food, lanterns, lights and even the catavinos with their chamomile/rebujito —manzanilla mixed with soda— included, have already been resolved, all you need to do is musically enliven the atmosphere. And to do it you will have to pull Spotify playlists play classic songs from the loudspeakers Raya Real or Singers of Híspalis, by María del Monte — How not to play the mythical Cántame by her and sing loudly “And I held onto your waist I sang to you, in the shade of the pines” — or Always like that.
Precisely the musical director and producer of this last group is Rafa Almarcha, who has composed some special sevillanas, in collaboration with Bodegas Barbadillo, with the fair in quarantine as the main theme and whom he has called Lighting of Hope . “Each house a booth, each balcony friendship, we are going to toast Seville for health and life, ours and that of others”. Hey.
A WALK THROUGH THE REAL FROM THE COMPUTER
To finish off the carnival experience that 2020 holds, one last and very original initiative: virtual soft studios, a Sevillian virtual reality and augmented reality company, has developed an application so that the walk through the streets of the fairgrounds is also possible. Of course: without getting your feet dirty and from your home computer!
“Thanks to a virtual reality web application, everyone will be able to access this 'Virtual Fair of Seville' using the mobile, tablets, standard browsers of any computer or even virtual reality devices or Cardboards”, Gabriel Carvajal, the company's marketing manager, tells us.
An experience that does not lack detail, since It has "booths, lanterns, a typical atmosphere, the cover and many other surprises that will be incorporated throughout the week of the fair", he adds. “We wanted to find something that people liked, that would help them escape from the reality that this confinement is turning out to be.”
The best thing is that the company has decided focus the initiative in a supportive way, so that all users —virtual fairgrounds— who are encouraged, they will be able to 'purchase' a fair booth to which a sign with their name or with their company logo will be placed, and that will be permanently reflected in that virtual fair. The money raised will be delivered to the Food Bank of Seville and Cáritas Diocesana to support those families who, due to the pandemic crisis, are having a hard time.
The April Fair of this 2020 will be different, incomplete, but Seville will manage to enjoy it with encouragement and positivism.
And there will be time to get your feet dirty in 2021.
The Virtual Fair of Seville is ready