This was my favourite 'fallas' |
The fiesta takes place annually in March to celebrate the beginning of Spring and to throw off the final drags of winter. The festival is 5 days of loud fireworks and crackers, street parties and the giant, satirical monuments that are known as 'fallas' and 'ninots'.
The monuments tower over the city |
From the moment we arrived, we could see that the party had begun in parts of the city. We walked to our apartment, past the 'ninots' and wondered what they were. They represent the age old tradition of burning the supplies of torching excess winter supplies and, over time, took form and shape of people and grew in size. On 19 March, the day of Saint Joseph, patron saint of carpenters and a public holiday in Spain, the monuments are burnt and thus the festival of 'Las Fallas' ('The Fires' in Valenciano, the language spoken in the area) was born.
Hello random strangers! |
The next day we made our way to the centre of the city to listen to the daily noisy event of 'la Mascleta'. At 2pm firecrackers are set off and a fanfare of gunpowder ensues for the next couple of minutes. Thousands are drawn towards the 'ayuntamiento' ('town hall' in Spanish) to watch the concert of noise and smoke. Feeling the 'doof doof doof' in my chest as the crackers went off was exhilarating and after it finished, the people slowly dispersed into side streets to carry on with their drinking and partying.
The crowd slowly started to disperse after La Mascleta |
The city doubles in size to about 3 million people during the festival. I wasn't surprised when the 5 of us that had gone together, were separated during the day. With so many people in the streets and with each of us looking at different things, it was bound to happen. By the time we found each other again, we were all exhausted and decided to go home to relax before going out again that night.
The streets came alive through music, dance and drink |
As we walked home, firecrackers were being let off every which way we went. I could never really quite relax as I jumped at every single one I heard and had to watch out for where they were being thrown; I was constantly twitching as if I had an odd disorder. The festival has been known to be a little dangerous because of the free-for-all mentality of playing with crackers and, of course, accidents do happen. Children as young as 5 were lighting their little cherry bombs, with no safety gear on, while parents looked on with a sense of pride. I did enjoy the smell of the gun powder though; it reminded me of my own childhood.
Sitting on the bridge, waiting for the fireworks |
Afterwards we went for a drink but I lost my 'ganas' (my desire to go out) and wandered the streets hunting for a taxi to go home. That was a failed adventure all on its own because no free taxis could be found anywhere, so we ventured through the city trying to find our way back to our temporary abode; our feet aching and our bodies tired.
We woke up on Sunday, not ready to go home but a little beat from the hustle and bustle of the festival. As night approached, we got on our bus and took the 3 hour trip home. I looked out the window and saw an orange full moon rise and that helped to ward off my Sunday night blues.
One more thing I can happily and successfully tick off my bucket list: Las Fallas (Spain 2014)
15m tall Moses sits in the city centre |