Las Fallas

“Las Fallas” is one of the biggest fiestas in the Valencia region of Spain, one that we learned about after we had arrived. It takes place the week of March 15-19th and while the main fiesta is in Valencia, other cities and pueblos in the region have their own celebrations as well.

Origen

I’ve read several articles about “Las Fallas” and most people agree it started with the pagans who celebrated the return of Spring with the burning of all the carpentry debris (wood, street parots, candles, etc) that had accumulated over the winter. Everything was thrown into the street and large bonfires were held. The Christians, later on, made the fiestas coincide with Saint Joseph’s day, the patron saint of Carpenters. Then over time, the ‘debris’ was fashioned into puppets with the likeness of public figures that were burned to criticize or mock unpopular politics / politicians.

The Celebration

Today, the fiesta still involves a ceremonious burning of puppets called “ninots” however they are huge statues, made from wood, cardboard, white cork, papier-mache and plaster and costs thousands of dollars (some over $50,000). The ninots are still constructed to portray political satire and current events, poking fun at corrupt politicians and Spanish celebrities. Neighborhood organizations raise the money to hire artists to construct the ninots, which take almost the entire year to build and are judged in the end. Only one is “pardoned” and finds a place in the Museum of the Ninot along with the favorites from years past. The rest are burned one by one on the 19th of March, la Crema, starting at 12:15 am, and the first place ninot burned last around 3:00 am in the morning. The burning symbolizes a freedom from thinking any longer about unpleasant issues and starting fresh.  

The celebration is more than just the creation and destruction of the ninots. There are parades, fireworks, royal courts, and the ofrenda de flores de la Virgen de los Desamparados where Falleras and Falleros wearing traditional costumes band through the city as they offer bouquets of flowers to the giant image of the Virgen.

Las Fallas in Denia

We were told by friends that going to Las Fallas in Valencia was crazy. You must be prepared to battle crowds like those in Times Square on New Year's Eve, and to tolerate the noise and vibration of endless fireworks that are being lit carelessly in the streets in addition to the official fiesta pyrotechnics. Since none of us were too keen on this idea, we decided to experience Las Fallas on a smaller scale in the neighboring town of Denia which was perfect. It felt equally as exciting but without feeling completely overwhelming.

On Saturday, March 18th, Volly and I drove over just in time for the mascletas which are the daily pyrotechnic shows at 2 pm during the fiesta week. It’s hard to describe the mascletas because they are really only truly experienced in person. Unlike fireworks that are visually stimulating, mascletas (which are named for the masclets- very loud firecrackers) seek to stimulate the body through strong rhythmic sounds. The firecrackers are strung up with ropes at a medium height and are set off in a chain reaction. For mascletas to be considered such, the explosions must find a rhythm that constantly increases to a dramatic conclusion. The firework artists are allowed to use a maximum of a half a metric ton of black powder if that means anything to you. All I know is that it was INTENSE. I immediately doubted my parental decision to subject my daughter to such a terrifying/exciting/loud event, even though there were plenty of other families with kids there to experience it as well. Even though we plugged our ears, we had partial hearing loss for the next 20 minutes and my heart continued to beat fast for a long time after the show had ceased.

We enjoyed wandering the streets of Denia and looking at the intricate details of all the ninots. I can’t pretend that I understood any of the political satire but it didn’t make me appreciate the works of art any less. I found it hard to not think what a waste! All of the materials, time, and effort to create the ninots, only to light them on fire!

It is always a treat to see the classic Spanish costumes worn during these fiestas. I would love the opportunity to dress up the same, but I don’t think I could endure wearing the makeup, hair pieces, and the huge heavy dress all week in the hot, hot sun.

Like most Americans would be, I was shocked to see young children lighting fireworks in every nook and cranny of the streets. I’m not talking about the lame black snake ‘fireworks’ we were allowed to light as kids. I’m talking about legit firecrackers being shot off without seemingly no concern or supervision by any adults. You’ll be walking down the street, absorbing all the fiesta stimuli and without any notice, a large CRACK goes off right by your feet and it scares the hell out of you. Then you see kids scurry off onto a doorstep to light the next one… all part the Las Fallas experience.

I tried to capture as much of the ‘feeling’ as I could in this video below: