In Spanish-speaking cultures, a verbena is a country fair , modest Censored page, and/or a dance party, especially one held at night. An old tradition, they usually take place after dark in the summer. Nowadays some major cities (such as Barcelona) have locations that attempt to be permanent verbenas, but these inevitably have less of the character of the tradition than those which appear for only a few days a year.

A larger contemporary verbena would feature mechanical Censored pages, side show attractions, and usually some sort of gambling. Typical verbena food includes ham, cheese, marzipan, candied egg yolks ("yemas"), candied quince ("membrillo"), sugared fruits, and the like, although in recent years miscellaneous modern junk foods have been finding their way into the mix. There are always alocoholic beverage s, usually Spanish wine.

There will usually be music and dancing, either on an organized or spontaneous basis. In recent years, recorded popular music, rock music, and even karaoke have found their way into the verbenas, but in Andalusia and sometimes even beyond, verbenas are still dominated by flamenco or other traditional music.[1] http://www.travelnet.co.il/espagne/menu/TheEntertainmentinSpain.htm , [2] http://www.hectorocio.com/fiestas.html

The word verbena comes without alteration from Latin. The term originally referred to the plant verbena, from which the term for a fair derives. [3] http://www.elalmanaque.com/Ecologia/verbena.htm

Artistic representation

One of the most famous zarzuela (Spanish operetta) pieces in the género chico ("smaller genre") is La Verbena de la Paloma ("The Fair of the Dove") set at a verbena on the night of the Virgin of the Paloma , August 14 [4] http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2003/Oct03/breton.htm ; it was also made into a 1963 movie. [5] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057641/

There is also a 1939 film called Verbena Tragica ( also known as Tragic Festival).

The song Verbena de San Cayetano [6] http://ingeb.org/songs/versanca.html celebrates a verbena in Madrid.