VALENCIA – It's that time of year again when the city of Valencia is dominated by the famous Fallas party until March 19. Las Fallas is a traditional festival in honor of Saint Joseph that is held every year in the city of Valencia. The term Fallas refers to both the party and the statues (of wood and styrofoam) that are specially made for the party. Las Fallas officially begins the last Sunday of February (in 2022 that will be February 27) with an opening party 'La Crida' at the emblematic Torres de Serrano and ends on March 19 with 'La Crema', the burning of the statues created for the party .
Each neighborhood of the city has a fallas association, Casal Faller (or a comissió fallera), which raises funds throughout the year to support the celebration and production of the statues. In 2016, the festival in Valencia was declared a World Heritage Site. Since then, it has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
fallas and ninots
Each falla consists of a basic structure and a number of “ninots” (puppets). The fallas are built on 15 March by the members of the fallas associations. There are two different types of fallas. The “Fallas Infantiles” and the “Fallas”.
The former children's fallas are smaller statues, with heights of up to approximately 1.8 meters. The common fallas are huge, some even up to 30 meters high. The Fallas are almost always finished with a number (sometimes dozens) of ninots. These ninots represent characters.
Every year, in the days just before the festival's highlights, there is an exhibition featuring a number of pre-selected ninots. One of these ninots will be chosen by the public as the winner and will be saved from the fire during the burning of all fallas.
This ninot goes to the fallas museum, where a ninot has been on display every year since 1934. The rest of the ninots from the exhibit will be returned to the fallas they belong to and will be burned.
The Fallera Mayor (the Queen of the Fallas) is elected for one year by each falla association. She is the main representative of the association. Among all falleras mayores, the Fallera Mayor de Valencia is chosen by a jury. She is the ambassador of the fallas party for the whole city of Valencia, a very prestigious and honorable position. La Fallera Mayor is present at all official activities during Las Fallas. Likewise, a Fallera Mayor Infantil de Valencia is also elected – the Children's Queen.
Events during Las Fallas:
From the moment the Fallas has started, the party goes wild and there are some traditional festivities and activities place like:
Last Sunday of February : (in 2022 that will be February 27) La Crida – official opening of Las Fallas at Torres de Serranos with fireworks and a light show. The fallera mayor invites everyone to come to Valencia to experience Las Fallas.
From March 2: La Mascletà – from March 2 to March 19, the so-called mascletas are lit every day at 2 pm at the town hall (Plaza Ayuntamiento). This is intense firecrackers that explode in different rhythms and varying volumes.
March 15: La Planta – in the night of March 15 to 16, all fallas must be fully installed and ready. In the early morning of March 16, the artworks will be judged by a jury and prizes will be awarded in various categories.
March 17 and 18: L'Ofrena de flors – flower offerings to the Virgen de los Desamparados (the Virgin of the Needy). More than 100,000 members of the various fallas associations parade through the streets of Valencia in traditional costume. The girls and ladies each wear a bunch of red, pink or white carnations. The flowers are presented to the Virgen de los Desamparados in the Plaza de la Virgen (Square of the Virgin).
On the square is a gigantic wooden framework with the head of Mary on it. The bunches of flowers are handed over to a group of women and men who then attach the flowers to the framework. Within 2 days Mary's bare wooden body changes into a beautiful flower cloak.
March 18: Nit del Foc – the night of the fire. From March 15 to 18, fireworks shows are given, which get a little more spectacular every night. The largest fireworks show takes place on March 18 during the 'Nit del Foc'.
March 19: Cabalgata del fuego – a fire procession from Calle Colón to Porta de la Mar. This symbolically brings the fire into the city to set the Fallas on fire later in the evening.
March 19: Cremá – burning of the fallas. From 20:00 the Cremá's of the Fallas Infantiles start, followed at 22:00 by the regular Fallas. This goes on well into the night.
source: spain today
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