So, Monday, I went to Valencia (say it Ballenthia, and yeah that "th" is a lisp) to see the Las Falles (say it like your saying fires, but ghetto, 'Las Fayas'), in Valencian, that means... the torches/fires. Basically, every area of Spain throws a huge party every year in honor of a saint, they occur at different times, and the Fallas (that’s how you spell it in Spanish) in Valencia is one of the most famous. This festival celebrates St. Joseph's Day.
It was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen. As soon as we got off the bus I felt like I was in a war zone, well, at least it sure sounded like one. Every 5 seconds something would explode, rocket, burst, crackle, or pop. No joke. It took us a few hours to not jump every time someone threw an explosive device.
Not only did every one have possession of some type of explosive, but there was no age discrimination in the matter. If you were a toddler who could barely stand, or a grandma on a respirator, you were throwin’ fireworks! It was madness. Also, please note that these aren’t just sparklers or those little pop things you throw on the ground… we were watching kids shoot rockets off. It was kinda funny/scary.
So, what we came to see were the Fallas, which are huge papier-mâché creations. For some background… During the week leading up to St. Joseph's Day, each group takes its ninot out for a grand parade, and then mounts it, each on its own elaborate firecracker-filled cardboard then there is a papier-mâché artistic monument in a street of the given neighborhood. This whole assembly is a falla.
These creations are developed according to an agreed upon theme that seems to center around satire. These fallas were ridiculous, they were so elaborate, some were 5 stories all and were so elaborate and gravity defying, I really don’t know how they didn’t blow over in the wind.
So the tradition is, around midnight, these falles are burnt as huge bonfires. This is known as the cremada or cremà, i.e. "the burning", and this is of course the climax and it was one of the most exciting things I think I have ever seen.
Before they were burnt, we walked around and tried to see as many as possible. We stubled upon the main cathedral with a huge Virgin Mary made out of carnations (oh how the Catholics LOVE Mary). There were throngs of people crowding the streets and the occasional marching band or parade would pass through. Oh I should also mention that I had some of the best coconut EVER. I bought it off a street car which was also selling tons of fruit, but I knew Valencia was a beachy town, so I embraced the sketchy coconut and it was so sweet! Here are a couple pics...
So, we didn't totally know what to expect but we the one we were closest too, and that I have video of, was adorned with fireworks which are lit first. Then, the construction itself is lit either after or during these fireworks. Note that this falla was in the middle of a tiny intersection, so when the firsworks shot off, they started hitting the surrounding buildings!! After a couple minutes of raging fireworks the bottom of the Falla started crackling and several explosions were set off. It was so loud it felt like we were witnessing some horrible disaster. Our falla got quite hot and there were firemen dousing the façades of the near by buildings in order to stop them from catching fire or melting.
We saw three fallas burnt, we wanted to see more, unfortunately there were so many people around it was impossible to see many. So we just stuck with a couple so we could be close enough to see them explode. But around the fallas people were going crazy through the streets. It was like an open-air nightclub, except that instead of music there was the deafening sound of the hooligans, young, old and disabled throwing fireworks and rockets around randomly. It was a great atmosphere. I bought a cute bracelet to add to my collection of “bracelets around the world.” We had some crepes, and there were tons of stalls selling porras, churros and buñuelos, as well as roast chestnuts and other random stuff.
It was a short trip, we were only there for 7 hours, and although I wish I could have seen more, it was definitely an experience.
VIDEOS
This video is of the fireworks... note how they hit peoples balcony's (sorry for the bad orientation too)
This is the coolest one.. this is the huge explosions after the fireworks.
This was after it was almost over, we were COVERED not in just ash, but WET ash bc the firemen had been spraying down the buildings surrounding it so nothing else would catch fire.
This is the video of it burning burning burning....
here is a video that runs the whole length...
For more pictures... http://chapman.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030808&l=ffadd&id=35800101
