Monthly Archives: March 2013

Seville | Bullfighting

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maestranza bullring sevilla

“Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter’s honour.” Ernest Hemingway Death in the Afternoon 1932

After flamenco, watching a bullfight is seen as one of the top priorities for getting in touch with the local culture of Spain, and although it’s perhaps less central than it was even 50 years ago, in the south bullfighting is still both popular and big business, as well as a source of many iconic images. So whether you regard it as an inhumane bloodsport or a form of art, like Hemingway did, there remains a fascination with the matador standing alone in the ring in the glare of the late afternoon sun with his cape and sword, pitting his skill against the brute strength of the bull.

Official poster for 2013 featuring Juan Belmonte

Official poster for 2013 featuring famed Sevillano matador Juan Belmonte

Seville’s bullring (La Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla) is located next to the river in the Arenal neighbourhood. It’s the oldest in Spain, the first corrida having been held there in 1765, and the original model on which most later bullrings were based, with its carpet of yellow sand (albero) and circular tiered seating rising to an arched colonnade that protects the most expensive seats from the sun. When there are no bullfights you can still visit the arena and the bullfighting museum and experience its unique atmosphere for yourself.

The main bullfighting season is in April, during the Spring Fair. This year the daily corridas (the standard bullfight) run from April 10 to April 22, followed by a season of novilladas (fights featuring young bulls and novice bullfighters) on Sundays during May. There is also a short season in late September, during the Feria de San Miguel. Prices depend on the type of bullfight and on where you’re sitting relative to the arena and the sun (sol, sombra, or sol y sombra) and for corridas start from 13 euros (if you don’t mind sitting with the sun in your eyes) and go up to 155 euros ‘face value’ for the best seats.

For a great view of the bullring from across the river, stay in one of our apartments on Calle Betis.

Aníbal González – The Man Who Built Seville

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This week we have another guest post by blogger, teacher, tour guide and history buff,
Peter Tatford, former Londoner and long-term Seville resident, aka Seville Concierge

anibal gonzalez

Unless you’re interested in architecture you may not even have heard of him, but if you’ve been to Seville you’ll certainly have seen quite a lot of his work. If you have heard of him it’s most likely in connection with the iconic Plaza de España, built for the Spanish-American exhibition of 1929, and one of Seville’s top must-sees for any visitor.

But there’s more to González (Aníbal González Álvarez-Ossario, to give him his rather impressive full name) than just the Plaza de España. He was one of the few who accomplished the architect’s dream of not only designing great buildings, but of leaving his mark on an entire city.

He was born in modest circumstances in 1876, the eldest of three children, and developed an early interest in books. It was a struggle for his parents to pay for his schooling, but in 1902 the sacrifices bore fruit, and he qualified as an architect. In 1910 he was appointed director of works for the proposed Spanish American exhibition, a post he held until 1927, when he resigned because of disagreements with the new Royal Commissioner for the exhibition, José Cruz Conde. In 1920 he was the target of an attempted assassination, and from then until his death in May 1929 he was always accompanied by a bodyguard. The exhibition opened just a few days before he died.

Although his early work was in a modernist style, as Director of the exhibition he developed what would become known as Neomudejar, utilising many aspects of the classic Mudejar architecture of the 13th to 15th centuries, particularly the use of brick, tiles and horseshoe arches, but combining these with elements of Gothic and Baroque, as well as his own personal touches.

plaza espana

The Plaza España in Maria Luisa Park, the semicircular centrepiece of the exhibition with its representations of all the Spanish provinces, boating lake, fountains and towers, is undoubtedly his crowning achievement (a statue of him erected two years ago stands outside the entrance to the Plaza), but he was also responsible for the Plaza America, including the buildings that now house the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Popular arts and Customs, and the Royal Pavilion.

Away from the exhibition some of his best known works include several buildings on the west side of the Avenida de la Constitución, especially the house of the Marques de Villamarta on the corner of Garcia de la Vinuesa (it’s the one with the narrow circular turret), the Bankinter building in the Campana, the Capilla del Carmen at the end of Triana Bridge, and the house with the big glassed-in balcony on the corner of the Plaza de los Refinadores (which I always tell visitors is where I want to live).

He was Seville’s most prolific architect in the first third of the 20th century, and his work also inspired a number of others who followed in his footsteps, and helped create an important part of the appearance of the city today.

Seville Oranges

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seville orangesOne of the first things many visitors to Seville notice is the orange trees. They line many of the streets and squares, more of them than any other type of tree in Seville, enough to make the city one of the most densely wooded parts of Spain. From autumn to around the end of January, when they are harvested, they are laden with fruit of an almost startling orange, but before that the fruit are a greenish colour, and can be mistaken for limes.

The trees are actually a variety of bitter orange, scientific name citrus x aurentium, and despite being everywhere in Seville, they are not, in fact, native to Spain, but to south-east Asia, and were brought here by the Arabs in the 12th century. Although sweet oranges are grown in other places in Spain, for the city streets the Moorish rulers preferred bitter oranges, as people wouldn’t pick them to eat, and the trees would retain their decorative aspect.

azaharThe trees blossom in early spring, producing delicate white flowers called azahar, a name derived from the Arabic for “white flower”, and for two or three weeks their distinctive scent fills the air, and is an important part of the “spring experience” in Seville. Extracts of the azahar are used for perfumes and scented water, and have a mild tranquilising effect.

Strangely enough, the Spanish make very little use of the fruit themselves. After harvesting, most of the fruit is shipped off to – where else? – England, where it is used to make that very traditional English breakfast food, Oxford marmalade. Seville oranges are widely considered to be the best in the world for this purpose, because the high natural pectin content helps the marmalade to set correctly. It is also said, though I can’t vouch for it personally, that the oranges from the Patio de Banderas next to the Alcázar Palace, are sent as a gift from the King of Spain to the Queen of England for making her own special marmalade.

If you want to try your hand at making your own marmalade while the oranges are in season, this is an easy Orange Marmalade Recipe from the BBC’s good food guide.

Seville | April Fair

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Feria Portada 2013 - a representaion of the Plaza de España

Feria Portada 2013 – a representaion of the Plaza de España

The April Fair (Feria de Abril) is the second of Seville’s spring festivals. Normally held two weeks after the first one, Semana Santa, the Feria changes the religious theme to a celebration of spring and having a good time. This year the official dates are from Tuesday, April 16 to Sunday, April 21, with the alumbrado, the switching on of the lights, at midnight on Monday.

Unlike Semana Santa, which is concentrated in the city centre, the April Fair is held on a purpose-built site on the southern edge of the suburb of Los Remedios, on land reclaimed from the old course of the river, so although it’s only about a 15 minute walk from the Puerta de Jerez, it doesn’t disrupt daily life in the same way, though some shops and bars may be closed at the weekend.

feria flamenco dressesThe first April Fair was held in 1847 on the Prado (field) de San Sebastian, just outside the old city walls, which at that time were still standing, and it was initially a cattle and horse fair intended as a modern version of the old mediaeval fairs. Strangely for what has become such a Sevillano event, it was the brainchild of a Catalan, Narciso Bonaplata, and the Basque José María Ybarra. As the years passed the Fair gradually began to acquire the character it has today. The horses and carriages have remained a staple of the fair, at least during the day, as have the traditional traje corto (short jacket and tight trousers) of the men and colourful flamenco dresses of the women, but the cattle are long gone. The first electric lights appeared in 1874, followed shortly by the paper globes that are so typical today, and the first commercial casetas. In 1973 the Feria moved to its present home.

The main entrance to the fair is through a gateway, the portada, which has a different theme each year. This year it’s a stylised representation of the Plaza España. Inside, the streets of the fairground are lined with casetas, small marquee style tents where food and drinks are sold. Although some of the casetas are public, the majority are owned by companies, associations, rich individuals and groups of friends.

feria horse carriagesDuring the day it’s the horses and carriages that take the attention, along with their riders, everything and everyone done up to the nines to parade around the fairground, and for anyone with a love of horses this alone is enough to make Feria worth a visit. At night, however, Feria is quite a different experience. The lights are all switched on, and the party begins. In the casetas there is much drinking of rebujitos (sherry with 7-up) and dancing of Sevillanas (a folk dance with flamenco-style music), that often carries on until dawn. Next to the main fairground, in the Calle del Infierno (Hell Street) is a funfair, with all the traditional rides and typical fast-food stalls.

To get to the fairground you can take a taxi, one of the regular bus services 6 or C1/C2, or the special Feria bus service that runs from the Prado San Sebastian. It’s also possible to walk, especially if you’re in the southern part of the city.