If anyone ever asks you if you want to be in a "desfile", it's very important that you realize that the word "desfile" means not only "parade" but also "fashion show". I did not realize that.
As a result, I signed up for what I thought was going to be a super cool parade and ended up being forced to participate in a fashion show that took place on the back porch of my school. I mean, I'm obviously model material, but beauty like this just isn't for the public eye.
Kidding.
Anyhoo, there I was, strutting down a red carpet on the arm of my friend Jordan, dressed in full gitana attire with a red-and-white polka dot dress and fringed shawl and massive red hair flower, rocking out to the sounds of Spanish pop music and the cheers of literally everyone I know in Spain and several dozen strangers. I slayed it, of course, but for the record, I slayed it under extreme duress.
Also, shoutout to my darling friend Kristen, because you were the queen of that fashion show. You give me life.
After the fashion show came the fun part, which was tapas and dancing. It was so much fun to dance sevillanas in my dress and see the bright flood of color as everyone else's skirts swirled around me. The dress and heels definitely make that dance more fun. My friends and I danced well into the night and regretted absolutely nothing. I think that party was the most fun I've had in Sevilla all semester.
The party was a little warm-up to Feria, Sevilla's biggest holiday. Feria is really just a holiday for the sake of a holiday, but it's really beautiful and a ton of fun. From Monday at midnight to Sunday at midnight, the fairground in Los Remedios is filled with casetas, which are brightly-colored tents with kitchens in the back and bars, seating, and dance floors in the front. Some are private, owned by families or companies, and others are public, owned by the city or by political parties. The private casetas tend to be smaller, and only people on the guests list or approved guests of the people on the guest list are allowed in. My friends and I had plenty of fun at the public casetas though. We had a pretty good thing going -- getting all dressed up, dancing sevillanas to traditional guitar music, drinking rebujito (the tradition Feria drink -- a mix of sherry and Sprite with which I avoided getting too cozy because it tastes like juice but is 15% alcohol), getting Tex Mex and churros at 3:00 in the morning, then sleeping past noon and mildly regretting all our life choices before doing it all again the next night anyway. The whole festival wrapped up last night with fireworks over the river at midnight, and even though I needed some serious coffee to get through my 9:00 am business class today, I have no regrets. My feet hurt, I'm so tired it's practically jet lag, and I had the most entertaining week I've had in quite a while. If you ask anyone from my school, "Que tal la Feria?" all you'll get is a very sleepy-looking smile.