The Fair in Sevilla dates back to 1847 when it was originally organized as a livestock fair by two councillors, José María Ybarra and Narciso Bonaplata. Queen Isabel II agreed to the proposal, and on 18 April 1847 the first fair was held at the Prado de San Sebastian, on the outskirts of the city. It took only one year before an air of festivity began to transform the fair, due mainly to the emergence of the first three casetas, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier, the Town Hall, and the Casino of Seville. During the 1920s, the fair reached its peak and became the spectacle that it is today. La Feria of Abril is accompanied by men and women dressed up in their finery, ideally the traditional "traje corto" (short jacket, tight trousers and boots) for men and the "faralaes" or "trajes de flamenca" (flamenco style dress,) for women. The men traditionally wear hats. Here a couple make there way to the fair on a moped.
Local flora. Cabo De Gata, Spain.
The pointed hat seen here during Spain's Easter celebrations was worn by clowns and jugglers who wanted to portray clumsiness or stupidity during medieval times. Because of this, pointed hats were used when vexing criminals. The criminals were forced to wear pointed hats and walk through the streets, while people threw rotten vegetables at them, spat on them, and insulted them. Later, during the celebration of the Holy Week/Easter in Mediterranean countries, "Penitentes" (people doing penitence for their sins) would walk through streets with pointed hats. It was a way of self-injury; however, they covered their faces so they wouldn't be recognized. The capirote is not to be confused with the pointed hood worn by the member of the Ku Klux Klan, and predates such hoods. Arcos de la Frontera, Andalucia, Spain, 2014
