Las Fallas

There's so much to write about what I've experienced yesterday that I decided to break it down to a few different posts. Before I describe my trip to you, I will first try the best I can to explain the great Las Fallas Festival.

Las Fallas is an annual festival held from March 15th to the 19th in Valencia, Spain. This festival has been a tradition since the 18th century and it has grown so much that it has attracted international spectators as well. The custom came from the fact that every year, Valencians would throw away and burn old junk to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of Spring. It was a way for them to purify anything and everything negative so they can start anew. The tradition eventually evolved to creating massive, elaborate fallas (paper mache statues) that represent anything negative. Thus, it is no surprise that these fallas are often political or satirical.

Valencia consists of about 400 falleros (falla groups). Falleros are an organized group that have fundraising events, parties, etc. During the festival, the falleros compete by creating the best falla in the city. I'm not sure if I have this right but I got the impression that each fallero creates two fallas, an adult and children version. Obviously, the falleros with the biggest budget create the best, most elaborate fallas.

Various events are held between March 15th to March 19th. Within these fours days, the falleros celebrate all throughout the day. The fallas are kept on display after March 15th, when the falleros unveil their fallas for the first time, and the falleros party around their falla. On March 16th, the fallas get judged. The falleros all dress in traditional clothing. I'm not sure if they wear them all five days or just on the last day. I'm assuming they wear them every time they have a parade, which I believe is constant during the festival.

At 2 PM everyday, the mazcleta takes place in Plaza Ayuntamiento. The Mazcleta is basically a fireworks show. On the 19th, the feast of San Jose, the festival ends with the burning of all the fallas, with the first prize winner being the last to burn. The burning event is called, La Crema. From 10 to 10:30 of La Crema, all the children fallas are set on fire. At 10:30, the first place children's falla is burnt. From 12 to 12:30, all adult fallas are burnt. AT 1 AM, the last adult falla is burned in Plaza Ayuntamiento. The burning process takes about five to ten minutes to finish. The next day, the falleros start planning for the next year. A whole year's worth of work gone in minutes!