Valencia is the hometown of the world famous festival known as "Las Fallas", a festival to celebrate the Saint Joseph. Although the festival includes a mountain of activities, the main event is the “fallas” (or huge statue-like figures) created. Every neighborhood of the city spends an entire year fundraising and planning to create both a small human-sized structure of a scene (called “las fallas infantiles”) and a huge several-story high structure with built in firework/firecracker mounts to be burnt later. The figures are made of wooden frames with styrofoam and plastic, painted and sculpted by the help of professional artists who’ve made their home in Valencia for this reason alone. The themes of these structures are usually a "jab at anything or anyone unlucky enough to draw the attention of the critical eyes of the those creating the fallas"- this could be movie characters, political actors, making fun of tourists themselves, ironic or puzzling made-up characters, etc. At the end of the festival on Friday night, all of the fallas are burnt simultaneously, leaving only the first prize falla left standing. The festival is one of Spain's largest and includes hundreds of fireworks in each neighborhood, the world famous Valencian Paella dish, festivities of all sorts, markets of all sorts, and a mountain of both tourists and locals flooding the streets to enjoy “Las Fallas”. Here are some of my pictures and videos!
(Giant sized Falla in the middle of one of the neighborhood plazas)
(This is a falla infantil... or "infant sized" falla. Each neighborhood would have a huge Falla plus one of these small ones)
(Music, dancing, crazy people... overall a great time!)
(Representing WSU Cougars in front of one of the main Fallas in Valencia)
(Here I am eating Valencia's famous and traditional rice dish called Paella. For this festival it is made in huge skillets fit to feed dozens and dozens of people. Typical paella of Valencia includes rice, seasonings, seafood, often rabbit or other meats, vegetables, saffron or food coloring, snails (optional), and beans. Although, there are dozens of variations. All I know is that I love Paella!)
(Very crowded festival. Here there are dozens of markets set up on a random street with a huge falla in the background)
(1st place winning Falla. This one won't be burned at the end of the night)
(incredible details for styrofoam, plastic, and paint. Detailed view of the winning Falla)
(this was too funny not to post. No wonder Europeans are so in shape and skinny!)
(Most of the fallas were actually quite comical, and although I didn't get what they were trying to show in the fallas, they were still entertaining to look at)
(Here is a giant figure covered in hundreds of roses to represent the "virgen". This figure is made annually in the Plaza del Virgen).
(Here is a Falla Infantil burning in a small neighborhood. At 10 pm all of the "fallas infantiles" are set on fire simultaneously with fireworks in each neighborhood. There are literally dozens and dozens of these fallas throughout the city!)
(We arrived over an hour and a half prior to the 1 am fireworks show and Falla burning to get this standing spot that we did, and we were still far from the main Falla to be burnt. Here is the back of the main Falla in the main plaza moments prior to burning to pieces)
(All of the big Fallas were burnt to the ground at midnight, followed by fireworks. The only exceptions were the prize winning Falla and the Falla in the middle of the main plaza. This Falla was set to be burnt at 1 in the am with a HUGE earbusting fireworks show. It was incredible to see this Falla burn down, but also heartbreaking because it was a huge and beautiful piece of art that took an entire year of fundraising and planning).
Las Fallas in Valencia are definately a one of a kind experience. Parents were teaching their 3 year olds how to play with sparklers and put off miny fireworks. My ears have never rang so much after experiencing fireworks constantly during the entire day which would remind me of being in a city being bombed, followed by the most intense fireworks show I've ever seen that literally would bring the word "bombing" to mind. Valencia....where else do people spend a year creating something so beautiful and unique and then celebrating the explosion of it into flames? Only in Valencia. The festival had amazing food, marketplaces, vendors, dancing, music, paella, artwork, Fallas, fireworks that made 4th of July look like child's play, and more people in one place than I have probably ever seen. Overall, I highly recommend others to go and am SO glad that I went even if it meant standing and walking around ALL day because the town was too packed to have any open seats at restaurants. So worth it.
My two weeks of spring break officially start Thursday for me. I'll be staying in Spain for a few days to experience the infamous Semana Santa and then will be off to Berlin, Munich, Dresden, and Bamburg for 8 days in Germany!
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