In the history of Spain some ferias have disappeared while
others have survived. The former are represented by the feria
of Medina del Campo in Castilla and the latter by the feria of
Sevilla. This grand Andalusian city shows us how the feria can
survive in a century in which peoples' dependence on agripastoral
work tends to decrease. In the middle of the 19th
century Sevilla initiated a feria-fiesta to add to her original feria
of livestock, and as time went on in the 20th century, the feriafiesta
came to supersede the feria of livestock.
The town of Zafra in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura
innovated around 1966 her centuries-old feria after the model of
the Sevillan feria-fiesta, although maintaining her feria of
livestock. As a result, in the 1980s the ferias of this town showed
delicate combinations of ferias of livestock, agri-pastoral industrial
products, and festive events.
On the 1st and 15th day of each month livestock market
is held for small scale buyings and sellings of livestock, especially
Iberian pigs. Livestock owners and merchants gather at a bar
in the center of the town and go to the corrals to conclude their
business.
At the ferias of Mocos (Feb. 3) and San Pablo y San Pedro
( June 29), horses, mules, and donkeys, usually owned by Gypsies,
are sold through Gypsy mediators called tratantes or corredores.
However, these ferias of livestock have been declining since the
1960s when the "miraculous" economic development of Spain
reached even this southern rural region.
At the feria of San Miguel, the biggest feria of the town in
October, we may witness since the 1966 innovations many
festive events and a large-scale exhibition and sale of agripastoral
industrial products in addition to the now disappearing
feria of horses, mules, and donkeys in which Gypsies participate.
As the above description suggests, Gypsies were and still are
involved in the ferias as sellers and mediators of livestock. They
participated in the ferias also as theatrical and rodeo performers,
and a few still come as street performers. A series of ferias in
this part of Southern Extremadura seems to have constituted
a cycle, consisting of Fregenal de la Sierra—Llerena—Zafra—
Merida and concluded by the Gypsy pilgrimages to Fregenal de
la Sierra to which also the non-Gypsies of the province pay
visits. This pilgrimage to Fregenal since around 1969 has increased
in importance as a meeting place for the Gypsies who had
ceased to visit the towns of ferias since the 1960s.
フェリアの変貌 : スペイン，エストレマドゥーラの家畜・産業・祝祭市
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