Starting at the beginning of March, Valencia celebrates the Fallas celebration. 19 days full of tradition, parties, art, and a lot of pyrotechnics.
# Background
Fallas refers to both the celebration and the structures being built. Fallas, dating back to the Middle Ages, began when artisans and households would burn no longer needed wood to celebrate the end of winter. This practice evolved into the construction of elaborate structures from the wood, leading to today’s up to 30-meter tall sculptures made of wood and polystyrene foam. Fallas are recognized as part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
# Pre Fallas
When I spoke with locals and told them that I recently moved to Valencia, the first thing they asked in February was if I experienced the Fallas before. The first time I got really excited about Fallas was when I spoke with two women stallholders at Ruzaffa market (translated):
You have no idea what to expect. F allas are crazy. My goodness, may god be with you.
You could feel that something was about to happen: Starting in mid-February, every weekend some kind of event happened in my street: Bands with wind instruments, drums and a megaphone performing while walking around. Lights, similar to Christmas lighting in Germany, hanging above the street were being installed. Crews built a stage for a single day on which man and woman in the traditional dress danced while using the Castanets.
# Fire
On 22 February in the afternoon a fire rapidly burned down a modern 14 story building in the Campanar district. Ten people died and 15 were injured. 138 apartments were completely destroyed. The Mayor of Valencia declared three days of official mourning, the first day of Fallas was canceled. The somber mood, however, was short-lived.
# Opening Night
Firework already happened the two previous nights but the Fallas were officially started by the Fallera Major and her princess at the historical gateway of Valencia on the 3. of March. I was expecting the mayor of Valencia to hold a speech but instead a woman in her early 20th (Fallera Major) and a young teenager (Princess) both hold multiple speeches in Valencian (I did not understand a word) with the entire crowd cheering.
A professional light show displayed on the gateway and firework accompanied the event. An orchestra played multiple times.
During the light show, something in the tech broke down. At some point a big AMD Ryzen logo was displayed on the gate. Also, a palm tree caught fire, most likely because it was hit by some firework.
I tried to make sense of the tradition surrounding the Falleras (the girls on the stage). Basically, every little girl’s dream is to become Fallera. There is a very complicated, multi round election process he did not even understand himself. You of course have to be pretty, but also eloquent and charming. All the qualities of a queen and princess. It also helps if your parents are wealthy, being Fallera is not cheap.
You can watch the event on YouTube
# Mascletà
Every day from the 1. to the 19. of March at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall square the Mascletà takes place. Mascletà was something I have never experience. 15 minutes of explosions so loud you can feel them in your entire body, colorful pyrotechnic and a lot of people. The explosions can be heard in the entire city. If you want to be really close I recommend bringing hearing protection. Even during the week everybody just seems to stop whatever he is doing and come to see the masclete. The city center is packed, even when it rains!
I visited the Mascletà six times, by the third time I knew which streets are closed by the police and where to get a good view. If you do not have the time to come at least one hour early I recommend to go the Calle de Correos to get a good view.
Of course, the one time friends from Munich visited, it rained throughout the entire event.
# Big last Party
The biggest party occurs on the 18th, the day before La Cremà. I met up with a Norwegian Erasmus friend, and together, we joined a pre-party with other Erasmus students before heading to Turia Park to see the fireworks, casually tossing around explosives on the way
The fireworks display was one of the best I’ve ever witnessed. Just when you think it cannot get bigger, it does. After the official firework, Turia Park turns into a lawless zone. People are throwing pyrotechnics at each other and into crowds. People were actually picking up lit explosives to throw them back, which thought was absolute Darwinism. Speaking of being stupid, we decided to join the party and run through the firework and explosive chaos a couple of times.
Afterwards, we walked to Ruzaffa where almost every street had a party. It was incredibly crowded, and at some points, we could barely navigate through the sea of people. We decided not to party there because it was too crowded.
Every other street intersection had a Fallera tent, all of which were closed to the public. These tents were fenced off and usually guarded by at least one professional security guard. Being quite drunk, my friend and I set the goal of the night: Break into a tent and party with the locals.
On our first try, we managed to sneak through the back fence of a tent, only to be kicked out within 60 seconds. We then scouted four more tents, but it was impossible to sneak through the fences. We changed strategy: Casually walk through the entrance. Audacity wins. After several failed attempts, we finally walked confidently through a back entrance guarded by a couple of young girls. We ended up partying in the tent for the rest of the night, even scoring some cheap drinks.
# La Cremà
La Cremà is the final event of the festival where the sculptures burned. This happens on March 19th and represents letting go of the old to make way for the new. It is a spectacular show. Crowds gather to watch as the sculptures burn, lighting up the night sky and marking the end of the celebration.
Overall I think, Fallas is a wonderful traditional event. Very rich culturally and definitely worth a visit.
# Extra Photos
