| April Fair | | The caseta (circus-type tent) |
The idea of the "caseta" (circus-type tent) was related to
the cattle trade. Three years after the founding of the Fair in 1849,
the city hall installed its first tent to keep order but shortly after
it became a symbol of the festival. The next year small merchants set
up their own "casetas" selling fudge, donuts, toys and
other knick-knacks.
The Fair evolved into a more aristocratic setting as time passed,
with the well-endowed fashionably involved. Many stood out with their
original designs, decorated exotically. Years ahead the "casetas"
were more in touch with what we see today, a good example would be the
designs established by the painter Gustavo Bacarisas in 1919. Until
the Fair's move to Los Remedios, the tents' designs were not uniform
in nature. The rules for assembly were established in 1938.
The "caseta" is made of a metal base and then covered with
a green or red pin-striped canvas, each stripe about 10 cm. wide. At
the outside of the tent you will find banisters and little triangle-shaped
flags. The flags crown the facade of the tent with a baroque style,
and sometimes show the casetas' name or logo. Also required are striped
curtains at the entrance with a small canvas roof.
The inside of the tents are divided into three parts, usually
separated by curtains. The first is the noble part which can not
have advertising and is usually decorated by the tenants. The
decoration should camoflague the second part. The floor is generally
made wood planks, although some do not. In the noble part a floor
is set up suited for dancing.
During the Fair's history there have been many tents that have
stood out. Some of them no longer exist, but some still form part
of the Nobility. Some well-known ones are:
"Er 77", famous for the
friendliness of its members, among them are the "Marquee of
Cabriolas" or the "Count of Pudding". The tent only
permits flamenco and Sevillana dancing. Its name comes from lot
number 77 where it now sits. It was well-known for the way it distributed
wine to its guests; it was taken from a well by a bucket. In the
back there were cots for guests to sleep-off any tiredness or
hangovers. They even published a magazine.
"Esta es" was set up in the
forties by José Cossío Marín, a big fan of
bull-fighting. He assembled the tent in Portugal Avenue and
constructed on the inside a bull-fighting ring which was actually
used. There many matadors came together until the promoter fell sick
and the "caseta" disappeared in 1955.
"El machacante"
has been kept up by the Nobility since 1927. It is a family tent and
has been that way since its founding. Its name comes from the fees
for joining, which was a five-piece coin or "machacante".
The decoration is based on embroidered table-clothes, bronze lamps,
and antique paintings.
"Los duendes de Sevilla"
("The goblins of Seville") is another famous tent. Its
name comes from one of the works of Alvarez Quintero, from who a
painting preserved in the tent. They have a hymn, which uses the
beat of a toll-bell hanging in the tent and one of its strophes
states plyfully, "who has not seen Seville in Spring is
a poor desgraced man who doesn't care if he dies".
|
Who are we?
Colaborate
Recruitment
News
Contacts
