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Archive for the ‘Fallas’ Category

Aside from being the birthplace of Paella, the City of Valencia is also famous for the Las Fallas festival.

The Las Fallas festival is a traditional commemoration of one St Joseph (day of the father) and represents one of the two most famous events in Valencia annually. This year held from 1st to 19th March 2013.

The festival is thought to have started many centuries past when the city’s carpenters used to burn old pieces of scrap wood and worn out wooden utensils collected through the winter as celebration of the feast of St Joseph.

The modern Las Fallas was created in the 19th century when prizes were awarded for the most creative use of leftover materials. Over time, there have been occasions when the Fiesta was banned as in 1870 when some of the images were not well received by local political representatives.

Nowadays, every year the ‘Fallas’ are created by numbers of different groups established specifically for the purpose of creating sculptures including puppets or dolls made from pappier mache to be burned on the last night of the festival. Up to 700 examples of these Fallas are created annually.

Some of the Ninot (dolls or puppets) are up to 20ft tall and will be mounted on their own Fallas as representation of religious, historical and political figures. The groups tasked with creating these wonderful pieces are known collectively as Casal Faller.

The first day is when the competing Fallas all have to be ready to display and any not completed will not be included in the judging. The second and third days are dedicated to a Catholic Procession called La Ofrenda where flowers will be brought to the central plaza and added to a wooden framed statue of Mary and the bands will play music with a sassy Latin flavour. .

There are 5-days of continuous partying processions and residents and visitors to the area are treated to a variety of firework displays every day and the streets are littered with pyro debris. There are representatives from around Europe all assisting in the lighting of the massive amount of pyro on offer.

Each day of this festival begins at 8.00am with a wake up call from the brass bands marching down the streets of Valencia and surrounding districts and they are followed by the fallers throwing large firecrackers in the street as they go.

The Mascleta is a pyro-musical display which takes place in each neighbourhood at 2pm daily. The pyro-technicians compete for the honour of providing the finale ‘Mascleta’ of the Fiesta.

El Castillo is the final night of the festival and at Midnight, a display of fireworks which lights up the sky and will contain several tons of pyro makes this a magical place to be.

The finale night of the festival is known as the ‘Crema’ (or the burning or cremation). All of the Ninots are then placed back onto there Fallas where the fireworks are lit first before the fire begins, reducing it all to ashes.

This year of course the festival has the added facet of having had a new Pope elected during the festival and as the festival is mainly for the Catholic faith, I am sure that the event will be more relevant than ever.

Fallas 2010: Mascleta Napolitana from Valencia Blog on Vimeo.

Its the mad time of year again for the residents of Spains most pyro-hungry city.

Valencia comes to life every year at this time in March for one of the grandest and loudest fireworks displays and festivals in Europe. Las Fallas.

Most famous for the daily Mascleta which happens every day for the next couple of weeks at 2pm. A series of ever louder reports shakes the cities walls and gives warmth to the heart of every pyro-maniac there, and there will be a whole lot there with visitors travelling from around the world to see (and hear) one of Spains most exciting attractions.

Want to learn more about the experience of Las Fallas? just click the link.

Want to learn about the dates for this years events? read on.

MARCH 8th (Monday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

MARCH 9th (Tuesday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

MARCH 10th (Wednesday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

MARCH 11th (Thursday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

MARCH 12th (Friday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

MARCH 13th (Saturday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
10.30 p.m .“International Folk Parade” around the “Plaza del Ayuntamiento” Followed by Night Mascletà in Town Hall Square.

MARCH 14th (Sunday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
6.00 pm Closing ceremony for CHILDREN’S NINOT EXHIBITION

MARCH 15th (Monday)
08.00 am Setting up of all “FALLAS INFANTILES”
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
6.00 pm Closing ceremony for “NINOT EXHIBITION”
00.00 am Setting up of all “FALLAS”
01.30 am Fireworks on the Paseo de La Alameda (between Exposición Bridge and Las Flores Bridge).

MARCH 16th (Tuesday)
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
4.30 pm From the stage outside Town Hall, Awards Ceremony for Children’s “Fallas”.
01.30 am Fireworks on the Paseo de La Alameda (between Exposición Bridge and Las Flores Bridge).

MARCH 17th (Wednesday)
09.30 am From outside Town Hall, Awards Ceremony for “Fallas” in all participating sections.
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
4.00 pm First day of the Flower offering to Virgen de los Desamparados, along Paz street and San Vicente street.  Falleros march towards the Plaza de la Virgen.
01.00 am Fireworks on the Paseo de La Alameda (between Exposición Bridge and Las Flores Bridge).

MARCH 18th (Thursday)
11.00 am Homage to the poet Maximilano Thous , at the monument in his honour located at crossroads of Sagunto street and Maximilano Thous street.
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento
4.00 pm Second day of the Flower offering to Virgen de los Desamparados, along Paz street and San Vicente street.  Falleros march towards the Plaza de la Virgen.
2.00 am Nit de Foc, the most important fireworks display in The Fallas Festival on the “Paseo de la Alameda” (between Exposición Bridge and Las Flores Bridge)

MARCH 19th (Friday)
11.00 am On the “Puente de San José” flower offering made by the “Fallas” Queens a their Courts of Honour in front of the statue of the Patriarch.
12.00 pm Mass in honour of the Patriarch St. Joseph, in the Cathedral Church, attended by the “Fallas” Queens of Valencia and their Courts of Honour.
2.00 pm Mascletà, Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
7.00 pm Cabalgata del Fuego along Colon Street with a spectacular firework show in Porta de la Mar Square.
At 10.00 pm Burning of the Children’s Fallas.
At 10.30 pm Burning of the Children’s Fallas.
At 11.00 pm Burning of the Children’s Fallas in the “Plaza del Ayuntamiento”.

MARCH 20th (Saturday)
Midnight -  Burning all the remaining adults Fallas in Valencia.
00.30 am Cremà or burning of the adult “Falla” having obtained First Prize among the fallas of the Special Section.
At 01.00 am Fireworks in the “Plaza del Ayuntamiento” and burning of the “Falla”.

Video of a mascleta from saturday 6th March 2010. Just another day in Valencia.

Send us your videos, photos and experiences of Las Fallas in Valencia and we will feature them right here on the worlds biggest fireworks blog!!