30 Beautiful Color Photographs of Women Attending at the 1959 Seville Fair in Spain

Each April, thousands of people visit the largest and most celebrated festival in Andalusia, the Seville Fair; or as the locals call it – Feria de Abril. The fair generally begins two weeks after the Semana Santa, or Easter Holy Week.

The fair officially begins at midnight on Monday, and runs six days, ending on the following Sunday. During past fairs, however, many activities have begun on the Saturday prior to the official opening. Each day the fiesta begins with the parade of carriages and riders, at midday, carrying Seville's leading citizens which make their way to the bullring, La Real Maestranza, where the bullfighters and breeders meet.

The Fair dates back to 1847 when it was originally organized as a livestock fair by two councillors born in Northern Spain, Basque José María Ybarra and Catalan 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. During the 1920s, the fair reached its peak and became the spectacle that it is today.

(Photos by Loomis Dean, via LIFE photo archive)