If you would ask someone about a festival in Spain, everybody would think automatically in ‘The Running of the Bulls’ festival (San Fermin) from Pamplona or the Tomato festival. However, Spanish festivals are much more than that. Fallas (Valencia) is one of those unnoticed festivals for the majority of the foreigners but its craziness and madness doesn’t have anything to envy to the most famous ones.
This festival has its origins in the middle Ages and it marks the arrival of the spring. Initially all the excesses of winter supplies were burnt on the 19th of March, the day of Saint Joseph. Little by little this has evolved and the pieces of wood and all furniture have become huge human statues that represent in a very satiric way what has happened during that year.
Those
huge monuments are still burnt on Saint Joseph’s day and the previous week is full of celebrations and parties. Fallas week is a slepless period for the Valencians, the party starts early in the morning with ‘La Desperta’, a wake-up called at 8 a.m. Around 2p.m. everybody meets in the Town Hall Place for ‘la Mascleta’ a 15 minutes of the loudest show of explosives. At night the party continues in every Falla until around 2 a.m. On the 17th and 18th of March all the Falleros walk from their neighbourhood to Plaza de la Virgen, where they bring flowers to the Virgin.
During this time the whole city closes down and it is impossible to drive since the monuments are taking over all the space. Therefore, I would recommend staying in the city centre and walk around everywhere. I stayed in a fully equipped apartment in the city centre that was really cosy and homey, which I highly recommend.
Discover this amazing festival and an amazing city!!
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