Never been to Spain? Kinda like the music? This weekend, Iberophiles of every description will converge upon the Strathmore grounds for a flamenco fiesta that celebrates the culture of Spain, especially the sunny Andalucia region’s city of Seville.

The feria at Strathmore lags behind its traditional date for mostly weather-related reasons, but Bascunana promises a reasonable facsimile.

‘‘The feria started today in Spain,” she noted a week ago. ‘‘It’s out of this world: ladies — and men — on horses, dancers in flamenco attire. It’s beautiful.”

That beauty is what the members of the Centro are hoping to recreate in the U.S. With flamenco music and dance, traditional costumes, delicacies that represent Spain’s various regions, Bascunana promises that Sunday’s festivities will bring the culture of her native land to her adopted country.

‘‘When I came to this country 30 years ago, people asked me, ‘What is Spain?’” she remembers. ‘‘They didn’t know.”

Now, she says, people come to the feria whether they know Spain intimately or have barely heard of the place.

‘‘The idea is to show Spain. People come and learn about it, and [Spanish] people come and almost cry because the feria reminds them of home.”

Guitar hero

Feria appeals to the emotions, and does so mostly through music. The tastes and smells of Andalucia will linger in the air, but the flamenco-loving crowd comes to the Feria de Sevilla to hear — and see — a stageful of acts. Among the most eagerly anticipated are Carmen de Vincente, a Spanish-born, Virginia-based castenet player, and Torcuato Zamora, a Silver Spring flamenco guitarist who was born in Granada, studied classical guitar in Barcelona, and teaches Spanish and classical guitar when he’s not performing.

Zamora, who emigrated to the U.S. more than 40 years ago, is a staple on the D.C. flamenco circuit, but Feria de Sevilla is a favorite event.

‘‘We try to make it as big as we can,” he says. ‘‘But in Spain it is the whole city: People come out, they dress beautifully, the guitars play, they sing and dance.

‘‘And the music is flamenco music.”

Which makes sense. Because flamenco originated in the Andalucia region of Spain, it’s the main form of entertainment at the feria. And because it draws its roots from various cultures in the region — those of the Moors, Gypsies, Sephardics — it’s especially appropriate for a day that brings people together.

‘‘Flamenco was developed by the Gypsy people who came in the 15th century,” Zamora says. ‘‘But it was a fusion of ideas — the Arabs, the Greeks — that had come there before the Gypsies.

Flamenco wasn’t well-known, Zamora says, until its golden age between 1869 and 1910 when ‘‘everybody started to sing and dance in cafés.” With popularity came change; elements of other musical forms like jazz and rock crept in. When Zamora came to DC in 1962 there was ‘‘just one Spanish restaurant, on 17th St.

‘‘I showed up here, that restaurant engaged me — and that’s how flamenco came to Washington.”

This is how it has stayed here, though, through festivals like Feria de Sevilla. Zamora will perform twice, ending the program with a number called ‘‘Furia Flamenca.”

‘‘‘Furia’ means really strong,” he explains. ‘‘Like a bullfight — graceful and strong.

‘‘It’s about the passion of the feria.”

Food and drink

In Spain, the Feria de Sevilla attracts crowds that hit the million mark. Over the last century and a half, the festival has evolved from a cattle trading fair into a weeklong celebration that features bullfighting, flamenco and sangria-fueled parties in tent cities set up on the banks of the Rio Guadalquivir.

At Strathmore, things tend to be less raucous. Bascunana says the general consul of Spain will kick things off at noon, and the food — plus sangria and soft drinks — will be sold from casetas, or kiosks, on the grounds. The Queen of the Feria will be crowned, ‘‘Salve Rociera” will be sung, and everyone is welcome to try out their flamenco moves (or learn a step or two) in the Gudelsky Gazebo.

‘‘We have five groups dancing,” Bascunana says. ‘‘All the academies know about the feria. It’s the biggest event of its kind in the D.C. area.”

So big that it reaches beyond Seville, with casetas representing not just Andalusia but also Castile, Galicia and Cåntabra.

‘‘Each one is trying to have typical food,” says Bascunana. ‘‘Paella, of course, from various chefs; from Galicia, the emponadas; arroz con leches from Asturias — like rice pudding — and the flan.

‘‘All the casetas try to have Spanish tortillas: eggs, potato and onion.”

She points out that in Spain, a tortilla is more like an omelet; it’s not a bit like its Mexican homonym.

‘‘We love Mexican food,” she adds, ‘‘but most Americans [are very familiar with] that. All the food we serve in feria is from Spain.”

And all the music, and all the crafts. This is above all things a celebration of Spain. But the crowd is expected from everywhere, and Bascunana can’t wait.

‘‘For the Spanish, it is like you are back in Spain,” she says. ‘‘For everyone else, it’s like you are coming to Spain for a visit.”

The Feria de Sevilla goes from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday on the grounds of the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Admission is free; parking is free at the Grosvenor Metro garage. Call 301-581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.