Utilisateur:Leataillandier/Brouillon
| Feria de Béziers | |
| |
| Type | Bullfighting and celebrations |
|---|---|
| Commence | mid-August (before the 15th) |
| Finit | mid-August (after the 15th) |
| Date | 10th - 15th August (2018)
14th - 18th August (2019) |
| Célébrations | Bullfighting, funfair, dances, concerts |
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Feria de Béziers[modifier | modifier le code]
The “Feria de Béziers”, which is held in mid-August, is one of the biggest events of the summer in Occitania. Nearly one million people meet there every year. Founded in 1968, it is the heir to the first novilladas and bullfights that have taken place in the arenas of Béziers since 1897. Currently the ban on bullfights in Catalonia, and in particular in Barcelona, is increasingly attracting Catalan aficionados to this summer féria.
History[modifier | modifier le code]
The arenas[modifier | modifier le code]
The current arenas, in the same style as the Spanish ones, were built in 1897, on the initiative of Mr. Fayot, director of the Nîmes arenas with two Biterrois builders and financiers, Mr. Gleizes and Mr. Sautel, in the middle of a prosperity period in the Biterrois wine industry.
This plaza de toros is the fifth in the history of Béziers. As soon as it was inaugurated on July 11, 1897, the Bitter city was nicknamed the French Seville. The arenas have seen the greatest matadors’ bullfighting including Luis Miguel Dominguin, El Cordobes, Espartaco, Antonio Ordonez, Paco Ojeda, Nimeño II, Richard Milian, Enrique Ponce and Sébastien Castella, the Biterrois bullfighter. The country's child received his alternative in August 20002.
The miuradas that took place in Béziers marked the history of bullfighting. Miura's bulls first performed in 1931, in a bullfight where Manolo Bienvenida showcased their caste. They returned in 1932, facing Jaime Noain and Carnicerito de Mexico. Then in 1951 where they were fought by Luis Miguel Dominguin in particular. Since 1982, their presence has been almost constant, since they have been of all ferias except those of 1989 and 1990, thereafter in 2005, 2006 and 2007, following an epizootic.
The Féria[modifier | modifier le code]
August 14th and 15th, 1968 are the historical dates of the first féria that took place in the arenas of the Valras plateau. A variety show with Pierre Perret, two novilladas and the comic-taurine troupe El Gallo were on the agenda. We credit the initiative of this féria to Jules Faigt, who had been deputy to the senator-mayor of Béziers Émile Claparède.
Since then, every year around August 15th, nearly a million people have been investing Béziers for five days to participate in one of the biggest events in Languedoc-Roussillon.
Foreseeing that Barcelona will indeed be a city without bullfights in 2012, Robert Margé, a bullfighter bull breeder and director of the Béziers arenas, shared, as early as 2010, with Raymond Couderc, Senator Mayor UMP of Béziers, the project to help the Barcelona bullfighting community, which could find itself without a Bullring, by opening them the bitteroises arenas.
In 2014, the new mayor, Robert Ménard, wanted to put his foot down by changing the atmosphere of the feria. He wants it to be a traditional family celebration, not a big drinking party. The féria opened with a worship service in the arenas. Indeed its official program specifies, that at the opening a service in the arenas will be celebrated by the chaplain of the arenas of Béziers, on Wednesday August 13th at 7pm. This provoked a reaction from the Left opposition and in particular from the communist Aimé Couquet, who considers it "unacceptable that a mayor publicly invites his constituents to participate in a religious ceremony, whatever the confession".
Dominique Garcia, Deputy Mayor in charge of city security and major events, explained to the local and national press: "This year, we have imposed schedules for music broadcasting, with time slots for different musical styles. This should avoid the cacophony that still exists today. The feria must be a gathering of people who love the bullfighting and religious tradition. This year, we are expecting Barcelonians who will come to our arenas, now that there is no bullfighting in their country.”
The festivities[modifier | modifier le code]
The feria has built its reputation thanks to the various festivals that take place in the city center around the bodegas and casitas. The tunes played by a multitude of street music (peñas and bandas), punctuate a multitude of animations with their rhythms.
Because passion for bullfighting is inseparable from celebration. This is evidenced as every summer for ages, Féria have brought together hundreds of thousands of people from Languedoc and elsewhere in all the districts of Béziers. In the evening, in the streets, around the bodegas, the shows and animations, all the music and dances of the world, trigger the festivalgoers into a great whirlwind that regains the magnificence of the ancient popular celebrations. The feria remains a timeless moment shared by all, while being linked to the Biterroise identity and the notoriety of the city. Moreover, it has established itself as an important economic tool for local trade. Over the years, the feria has become so protean (multifaceted) that it must be considered that there are as many ferias as there are participants in it.