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The Feria in Nîmes

I wanted to post a quick summary of my time in Nîmes two weeks ago. I went with Beair to Nîmes to celebrate la Feria. Apparently, la Feria is an ancient festival that began hundreds of years ago. Today it revolves around La Corrida, the bullfight which takes place in the Roman arena in the center of the city.



The city of Nîmes was founded during the Roman times, and it's rich history includes the invention of denim. (de Nîmes -> denimes -> denim) It's current population is around 200,000, but during la Feria the population swells to nearly a million people! Since only about 20,000 people attend the actual bullfight, most people come for the festivities surrounding la corrida.

Most of the city streets are closed to motorized traffic, and they are full of people searching for food, wine, and music. Many houses turn into tapa bars and restaurants, inviting people to come into their houses for the party. They call these bodegas. It's very difficult to enter the more trendy bodegas, and you have to be invited to have a chance to get in.



The picture of me above was taken on the wall of the arena at the end of a bullfight, but our actual seats were right above the presidency, where we could see and hear the details of the fight. These were my first bullfights, and I wasn't sure if I would like them. I was afraid of the gore and blood. But after seeing a couple of fights, I'm very impressed. The matador literally dances with the bull, and all the positions and moves are fluid and beautiful. The combination of the movements with the bright colors is exciting, and the contrast between the small man and the massive toro is astounding. I can see why so many artists are attracted to la corrida.



Above is Beair in one of the bodegas. It's call Le Poète, after it's founder who was apparently a poet. It's build in a labyrinth of underground rooms connected by narrow passage ways. The music was almost exclusively flamenco, and most of the people had no trouble dancing la sevillana. To Beair's right is a very influential politician. (Deputée) She was a friend of Beair's father, so we followed her and entered the bodegas with ease.



The streets of the city were packed with people even at three or four in the morning. People danced in the streets! The diversity of music was astounding: one street would play loud house music, and the next would play eighties French music. One bodega we ate at played Maná. :D I danced to Corazon Espinada in the rain ... haha!



I stayed with Beair's family in a villa just outside of Nîmes. I'm pictured above with Séverine, Beair's sister-in-law. As you can see we enjoyed delicious food and wine. Every meal seemed like a three-star feast with four or five courses!

Traveling Beair is great because of his passion for culture, art, and people. He always has a clever story and an interesting fact. We had a great time in Nîmes ... Thanks, Beair. :) I'll never for that weekend. Nos vemos en Mexico.


(Photos by Beair)

Labels: culture, france