Feria de Béziers 2024: caseta, pregon, bandas… a short glossary to understand all the words of the festival

Une caseta à la Feria de Béziers. Midi Libre – GOT Olivier

Chaque jour pendant la Feria, Midi Libredeciphers some essential words. Shedding light on their origin and meaning.

Caseta : a caseta literally means a small house in Spanish. In Spanish ferias, they are small public or private homes where people gather. The concept has taken root in France. This is how we speak of casetas to designate the stands covered by white tents, reserved for associations, where everyone can sit down to have a drink and eat.

Pregon : a pregon is above all a song used by the street vendors of Cuba to sell their products, in the villages of the island in the 19th century. Today, it is a song in which a soloist and a choir respond to each other. In Spanish, it also means a speech. This Wednesday, August 14 at 9:30 p.m., it's the pregon of the Feria de Béziers: Mayor Robert Ménard will give an opening speech, then songs will be performed by La Peña Lous Camelous and Floréal Vaquerin.

Bodega: bodegas in Spain are the equivalent of our bistros in France. The word is used in the South, and particularly during ferias, to refer to a place, often enclosed, where people gather in a festive atmosphere to eat and especially drink.

Peñas y bandas : a peña, originally, is a group of friends who meet around a common interest, and often during parties. Today, it is a term broadly designating a more or less formal association. During ferias, peñas organize concerts and other festive moments. The banda, on the other hand, follows the same principle, but the term is reserved for music groups. It is a traveling band that animates the streets.