Ramblings of a guiri: Las Fallas- (March 15-March 19, 2012)

Dr. Sandarg, a professor of Spanish at Augusta State University in Augusta, GA once told me that there are three festivals that a person must attend if he or she travels to Spain: Sanfermines in Pamplona (July), Semana Santa in Seville (April), and Las Fallas in Valencia (March).

I attended Sanfermines with her July 2010. I knew that I wouldn't be able to experience semana santa in Seville so I made up my mind to stay in Valencia until all the fallas were burned to the ground.

I have never attended anything like Las fallas. It is celebrated in conjunction with el día del padre ( St. Joseph) which is every March 19. Fireworks are set off at the beginning of the month to signal the beginning of the festival. The main events of Las fallas happen March 15-19. Because this is one of the biggest parties in the world, people must make their hotel reservations really early. I tried to make hostel reservations in January, but they fell through. With the help of friends, I found other accommodations. We all stayed together in a village outside of Valencia which had its own fallas celebration.

The fallas are puppets (ninots in valencian) that are constructed of paper maché and wood by various neighborhoods throughout valencia( casal faller) There are large sculptures for the adults and small ones for the children. The fallas usually make political statements, although I think I saw some innocent ones. On March 15th, the construction of the fallas are completed and the five-day party begins! During this period, people from all over the world crowd the streets and throw firecrackers. It's a mad house, but very exhilarating. Officials also make rounds to judge the fallas. During the week, there is also a mayor (woman) and a minor fallera (girl) chosen.

There are several important events that happen during those 5 days:

La despertá- bands from all the communities begin their parades. I was not able to hear the ones early in the morning, because I stayed in a small community near Sagunto called Canet d'en Berenguer. I'm glad we were here, because it was much more peaceful than Valencia city with all the tourists.

La Mascletá- This is the daily fireworks show in the town hall. We saw this our first day in Valencia. We arrived in Valencia on Friday morning, rested a little, and made our way to the town hall.

La Plantá- when the fallas are supposed to be finished or ...planted.

L'Ofrena flora- This is the offering of flowers to the Virgin. A wooden structure of the Virgin Mary is constructed and then filled in with red and white flowers. Flowers are then offered to her. Flowers surround the hall where she is placed. Plaza de la virgen. The workers begin by placing paper of the the structure to outline where the flowers will be placed. The structure is complete by the last day.

Ells Castells- These fire works are at 1am outside of the old castle in Paseo Alameda

La Nit del Foc- these fireworks happen at 1:30am on March 18th. They are the largest fireworks before the burnings. They can be seen on the bridge or near the castle.

La Cremá- the burnings of the fallas. The burnings of the children's fallas (fallas infantiles) begin at 10pm on March 19. It is impossible to see them all, because there are hundreds of them placed through Valencia. I was able to see the one outside of my hostel.

The children's falla that won first place is burned at 10:30pm. At 11:00pm, the children's falla that is in the town hall is burned.

The burnings of the adult fallas begin at midnight. At. 12:30am, the adult falla that won first place is burned. And finally, at 1am, the falla in the town hall square is burned. There are fireworks before the burning and then music is played at the falla burns to the ground. It's the most amazing display of pyrotechnics that I have every seen. After the burning of the main falla, I went back to my hostel and happily went to sleep.

So how did I feel? I loved las Fallas. As my friends know, I hate being around crowds of people. I was just glad to be there. I was frightened and excited at the same time. I'm grateful that I was able to stay until the burnings. I mean why go if you don't stay until the end?

So I've been to 2 of the 3 most important events in Spain. I'm satisfied. I'll catch semana santa another year. I'm sure of it. Some people may say that I may never have another chance to come back to Spain. Well, someone said that to me in 2010...and look at me now. :)

About Valencia:

Valencia is an autonomous community located on the mediterranean coast of spain between Catalonia and Murcia. It is of course famous for its paella, warm weather, beautiful beaches, las fallas, location, the city of arts of sciences, and various other things that I can't remember. The official languages of Valencia are Spanish and Valencian, a dialect of Catalan.

Some of the things I did while there:

-I went the the arts and sciences building

-I played volleyball on the beach with Belgians

-I ate paella on the beach and then was entertained by a friend who complimented the Indian chef.

-I went looking for a bank in a town where I was sure some little girls were trying to distract me so they could throw firecrackers at me.)

-I at at cien montaditos

-I drank horchata in Sagunto

-I danced at an outside concert in Sagunto

-I at churros and chocolate

-I went to the beach in Sagunto

-I saw the castle in Sagunto

-I walked to the top of the Cathedral of Valencia