Top Tips for Attending a Fiesta, by Hannah Fielding

No visit to Spain would be complete without immersing yourself in a cacophony of noise, a riot of colour, a barrage of scents and a sweeping spirit of exuberance, celebration and community, with a Spanish fiesta. Music and dance and pageantry and feasting and revelry aplenty, but so much more besides: an authentic sense of what it means to be Spanish and live impassioned with fire in the blood.

First, you need to choose which fiesta most appeals. There are so many in Spain, far more than I could list, because in every city, town and village at least one fiesta per year brings people together on the streets. It’s best to research fiestas in the destination you’re visiting, but be sure to consider these, the most iconic and popular:

• The Cadiz Carnival (the weekend before Ash Wednesday): Dating back to the 16th century, this ten-day event is the carnival to visit in Spain. As you would expect at a major carnival, Cadiz has music and dance and costumes and feasting and revelry aplenty. But what really sets it apart is the satirical song contest at its heart, which is so high profile that it is televised nationally.

• The Jerez Horse Fair (May): Devoted to horsemanship, sherry and flamenco, the Feria de Caballo has been drawing huge crowds for more than 500 years. The horses on display are some of the most beautiful and expensive in the world; after all, this is the city of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art. There is nothing quite like standing at the side of the Paseo de Caballistas y Enganches (Carriage and Riders’ Avenue) and watching the processions of horses and carriages go by bedecked in the most amazing colourful attire.
• The Running of the Bulls, Pamplona (July): The Encierrois a very old tradition, in which six bulls are let loose in the old quarter of the town’s streets, and people attempt to outrun them before they reach the bullring, a distance of 825 metres. Historically, the Running of the Bulls relates to hustling bulls from the fields to the bullring: to this day the six bulls that run the streets are those that feature in the bullring that afternoon. Hemingway (having run himself) dubbed it a ‘wonderful nightmare’; certainly, it is a spectacle worth seeing.

• Seville Fair (two weeks after Holy Week): Opening night is la noche del pescaíto(night of the fish): traditionally, you eat fish for dinner before going to the portada, the gate to the real de la feria constructed especially for the fiesta, and watching the alumbrao (lights switched on) and fireworks. Then you stay up all night, going from caseta to caseta, little house tents where you can eat, drink and party.

• Las Falles, Valencia (March): This festival is all about the ninots (Valencian for puppet or doll), which each neighbourhood group makes to a theme and displays in the streets as a falle. Two weeks of revelry build up to the Night of Fire, when all the falles are burned, the most prominent ones – which may have taken months to create – with firework explosions. The public vote for just one ninot to be spared; the rest are spectacularly destroyed.

Once you’ve decided on the fiesta, how can you get the most out of it? First, follow the Boy Scouts’ motto and Be Prepared! You’re going to be out for hours, so pack a bag with all you need:

• sun cream and a hat to guard against the scorching sun
• a light jumper for the evening (because you’re certain to be up late!)
• your camera
• bottled water
• plenty of money to cover food, drinks and purchases from the many street vendors

Above all, wear comfortable shoes: you’ll be on your feet for many hours.

When you’re at the fiesta, the best advice I can give is this: cast off your inhibitions, and go with the flow. A fiesta is not designed to be a spectator event; a performance that you watch and then applaud politely. A fiesta is designed to be a happy, celebratory coming together of people from all walks of life. Throw yourself into the fray, I say! Try a local delicacy. Drink what the Spaniards are drinking. Clap. Sing. Dance, even – make memories. No one is judging you, they are only welcoming you to this joyful gathering. Olé!

Legacy by Hannah Fielding is out 29^th September (7.99) http://hannahfielding.net/

Tags: andalusia, las falles valencia, pamplona, seville, seville fair, spain, spain fiesta, spanish fiesta, the cadiz carnival, the jerez horse fair, The Running of the Bulls Pamplona, valencia