Valencia Fallas, the stellar fireworks spectacle

Festival of fire and thunder: Las Fallas in Valencia is celebrated in honor of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. The festival came from humble origins, when the city’s carpentry workshops used to burn their scraps on the eve of Saint Joseph’s Day. Today, Las Fallas in Valencia is a huge event that attracts thousands of visitors and has earned the title Fiesta of International Tourist Interest.

Numerous artisan workshops in the city and the Valencian Community participate in the Fallas, as the celebration has spread to other towns in the region, lasting from March 15^th to 19^th.

What are the Fallas

An impressive falla. | Shutterstock

Originally, carpenters burned their wood shavings and splinters on the eve of Saint Joseph’s Day. In the 18^th century, they started burning wooden boxes instead, displaying crude wax dolls dressed in old clothing and satirical posters poking fun at someone from each neighborhood of the city.

This all evolved thanks to the creativity of local artists who in the early 20^th century began to create all kinds of figures, the ninots, from papier-mâché. Today they use polystyrene, a malleable soft plastic that makes the monuments shinier. The fallas have continuously grown in size until reaching 32 meters high. Today, 385 fallas are located in the city and over 250 are scattered throughout the rest of the province.

Stages of the Fallas

The fallas’ time on the streets and in the plazas ends when they are consumed by flames in the Cremá, on the night of Saint Joseph’s Day. Each falla consists of a central figure: the tallest one has smaller ones attached, alluding to one or several themes.

Falla of two Venetian women. | Shutterstock

Everything regarding the creation of the monuments falls on L’associació de Artistes Fallers, while the organization of the festival is the responsibility of the Junta Central Fallera, composed of several commissions from all over the city. They have meeting places (Casal Faller) where the members decide on the theme of their monument and how to secure funding for it and the other costs of the festival. The Casal Faller also serve as meeting places, hosting cultural and social activities take place.

There are also junior committees, made up exclusively by children who set up their fallas, with kid-friendly themes and aesthetics. The fallas are installed on the streets on March 15^th, known as Plantá Day, although some exceptionally large ones have had to be set up weeks beforehand using cranes. The Cremá (burning) of the fallas is the climax of the festival and is preceded by several symbolic ceremonies. The first of all is the Crida, on the last Sunday in February, when the Fallera Mayor receives the key to the city. For several days, nearly 800 ninots are exhibited. The committees parade them in festive processions with the hope of currying favor with the public and earning the pardon that saves them from being burned.

Falleras. | Shutterstock

The Ninot Cavalcade, the weekend before the week of The Fallas, includes satirical representations of social, political, or sports-related themes. The members, dressed up as ninots, travel on floats and compete for various prizes. The children have their own parade. There is another cavalcade known as the El Reino Cavalcade or the International Folklore Cavalcade. This is a large parade which represents the folklore of the three provinces of the Valencian Community (Valencia, Alicante, and Castellón) and other regions of Spain as well as other countries.

The Mascletá. | Shutterstock

One of the defining characteristics of Las Fallas is its pyrotechnics displays. From March 1^st to 19^th, the Mascletá takes place at 2 pm. Its name comes from a type of firecracker, the masclet, and it consists of a thunderous explosion that can exceed 120 decibels.

Every morning, in what is called the Despertà, the partiers wake up the city by setting off masclets that explode when they hit the ground. Every night from the 15^th to the 19^th between 1 and 1:30 am, fireworks are set off in the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. The most noteworthy display is the Nit del Foc, on the night of the 18^th into the 19^th, when fireworks fill Valencia’s skies.

Burning falla.| Shutterstock

As a prelude to the burning of the fallas of Valencia, the Cavalcade of Fire has taken place on the afternoon of the 19^th every year since 2005. This has revived the tradition of the comparsas (troupes) dressed as devils and floats dedicated to the god Pluto lighting the fallas on fire. Finally, on the night of the 19^th, the Cremá takes place. This ceremony closes the festival. Fallas are set up on the streets of Valencia and then they are set on fire. These monuments have taken a lot of resources, many hours of work, and the tremendous talent and creativity of artisans who have already gotten to work preparing for next year’s celebration. As far as religious elements go, the Offering to Our Lady of the Forsaken, the patron saint of the city and the Valencian Community, is held in the in the afternoon and early evening of March 17^th and 18^th. Each fallera offers a flower bouquet to the Virgin, creating a spectacular floral tapestry that covers the body of the statue, positioned 14 meters above the floor.

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