Feria de Sevilla at Strathmore. April 20, 2008
All dressed-up with a fiesta to go to! :-) April 20, 2008 12:58pm
On Sunday morning, I got a text from my good friend Cindy telling me that the Feria was cancelled. As you can imagine, with the pouring rain, it's a challenge to host an outdoor festival. So I called up Centro Español president Irene Buscañana to get the official word before I made the announcement on my website--which, by the way, got a record number of visits on Sunday. No doubt hundreds of people consider DCFlamenco.com the flamenco info source for DC, yay!
Anywayz, Irene informed me that although the amphitheatre stage shows (which was to feature performances by several local flamenco dance companies) were cancelled, some of the food booths would remain open just in case people decided to show up. Without the flamenco shows, I didn't think there would be that many people. But I was wrong.
I decided to go with the intent of photographing what little would be going on just to document the event--being that I am the self-appointed reporter for the DC flamenco scene. It wasn't thousands of people as would be expected had the weather been beautiful, but more like a few hundred. Just the right amount to have a decent festival crowd and fiestas in one of the casetas.
Doesn't look like much now. But this is where party central will be. April 20, 2008 12:58pm
Thing is that when the party got started, everyone converged on "party central" because that's where the excitement was going on. Unless of course you were stuck standing in the long lines for food--yes, despite the pouring rain, the people patiently waited for the opportunity to buy some delicious samples Spanish cuisine.
My new friend making my lunch. April 20, 2008 12:59pm
Adding water to the pan of my paella. :-) April 20, 2008 1:00pm
Paella! Yum! April 20, 2008 1:00pm
Rain's not going to stop people from getting some delicious Spanish food. April 20, 2008 1:02pm
Preparing a plato of jamón, chorizo y pan. April 20, 2008 1:09pm
Pouring a glass of refreshing sangría. April 20, 2008 1:09pm
Tortilla española, pan, jamón y chorizo. April 20, 2008 1:10pm
April 20, 2008 1:13pm
April 20, 2008 1:14pm
Músicos. April 20, 2008 1:18pm
Sevillanas. April 20, 2008 1:21pm
April 20, 2008 1:22pm
April 20, 2008 1:24pm
Salva Rociera sing-along. April 20, 2008 1:29pm
Rain's stopped for a short while. April 20, 2008 1:30pm
Guitarist Torcuato Zamora posing with VIP's. April 20, 2008 1:30pm
Singer Hector Márquez and Torcuato. April 20, 2008 1:33pm
Yet another batch of paella! April 20, 2008 1:35pm
Músicos with some of the dancers. April 20, 2008 1:37pm
More Sevillanas dancing. April 20, 2008 1:39pm
April 20, 2008 1:39pm
April 20, 2008 1:40pm
Torcuato and Javier Bustamante. April 20, 2008 1:42pm
Sevillanas. April 20, 2008 1:44pm
More Sevillanas. April 20, 2008 1:46pm
Still more Sevilanas. April 20, 2008 1:47pm
Javier. April 20, 2008 1:50pm
Torcuato. April 20, 2008 1:50pm
That's me Miguelito putting down the camera long enough to actually participate! April 20, 2008 2:30pm (photo by Hector Márquez)
At this point, people were screaming as the rain was coming down so hard that a stream of water was flowing across the floor. But of course it didn't stop the party! April 20, 2008 2:30pm (photo by Hector Márquez)
Once I picked up the guitar and joined in the party, I lost track of time. One sevillanas after the other. Then some rumbas. Then back to Sevillanas. Then some fandangos de Huelva. Back to Sevillanas. At one point the caseta felt like a sauna--kinda like the tiny basement dance floor of Café Citron when it's packed with a hundred dancing people on a warm summer night. It was hot in there. But with all the people determined to carry on despite the rain, you couldn't help but get drawn into the spirit of the Feria de Sevilla.
Centro Español de Washington will be organizing a picnic at Seneca Park sometime in May. Date and details, when confirmed, will be posted on their website.
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Comments
Oooh, Michael...your photo of the Tortilla española, pan, jamón y chorizo is wonderful! Takes me back to Espana. Thanks. Marisol
Posted by: Marisol | April 21, 2008 1:04 PM