List of Previous Titles

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Las Fiestas de la Fallas of Valencia









Las Fiestas de Las Fallas is Valencia. It is everything that Valencia is made of, including passión, religión, danger, fire, explosions, dangerous and very Mad Bulls, art, noise, incredible displays of fireworks, fashions, culture, history, custom, food, drink, dancing, music, colour, and excess, lots of excess.

For anyone who had been hiding under a rock, and who chose to arrive in Valencia by rail during the first three weeks of March, they would be met at the train station by an incredible amount of noise. They might choose not to get off the train as the sounds are similar to that of a war zone. From the first day of March the idea is to make as much noise on a continuous basis as we can so in order to chase away the old man of Winter. It always seems to work because on March 21st Spring officially arrives.

The weather had been so foul leading up to this year’s celebrations, that when the sun came out people joined in with such enthusiasm that we forgot our woes and the crisis. The basis of Fallas is the construction of monuments that tell some form of tale. They may be about local politics or international characters, and they should include something quite rude. Britain’s Royal Family have often been lambasted.

I first heard about this festival wherein monuments were constructed, some costing about as much as a brand new car. They are then planted in cross streets as the presentation of various clubs and associations. Money is raised to complete their presentations, and when the festival comes to an end they are set on fire where they stand. I couldn’t believe what I was being told and so had to see for myself what took place.

Last year we saw a monument that cost 900,000 euros to construct blown up and set on fire. True, it’s not quite the same thing as simply piling up notes to the total value of 900,000 euros and striking a match. That sum represented employment for several artisans for a year, and materials, plus the event itself brings into Valencia more than two million visitors, but still, I can’t help thinking about the poor, the homeless, the hungry who need help.

To describe in any kind of detail all of the things that happen during Fallas would be quite impossible. Fallas is the biggest festival on the Valencian calendar, bigger than America’s Cup; bigger than Formula One, and it is Valencia’s own creation. It truly is one of those things that has to be experienced personally to be believed.

One interesting aspect is that the interior of the city, which is a vast area excludes normal traffic flow, including public transport. People who live within can get accreditation for their vehicles, but getting around is very difficult. Some six hundred streets are cut off which makes moving in a vehicle very difficult, plus pedestrians take over complete streets, so someone behind the wheel of a car has to move at a walking pace. It’s an amazing thing to turn the heart of a city into a temporary pedestrian zone.

On the night of the 19th it is time to burn them all to the ground, and that signals the start of preparing for next year’s event. It is quite something to see the free flow of tears, not just in the young women, but also in grown men who have been closely involved with the project everyday for a year. Watching them burn must be something like cremating your grandmother. Very difficult to accept!

Not surprising, residents who are subject to non-stop noise, and restricted access to their homes take this time of year to go on warm vacations to South America. Who can blame them?

Copyright © 2010 Eugene Carmichael