Ciberfallas International

Sculpture in San Jose

The busiest day of all the Fallas week.

San José or Saint Joseph is Father’s Day in Spain.

It is also the day of the Cremà.

San José starts with an ofrenda of flowers on the Puente San Jose attended Falleras Mayores and features a mascletà.

This is followed by a¨misa¨or service with all the main Falleras and the Carpenter’s Guild in the Cathedral in honour of San jose

This is a lovely day to wander around the city and take in the atmosphere of this last day, all over the city every ´casal´ has its closing party, many of them celebrating by making paellas in the street, and many having their own mini-Mascletàs which follow the Main (and last) Mascletà in the Ayuntamiento. A very noisy and emotional day.

“Falles o Treballes?”

Pedro Santaeulalia, with his project "Falles? o Treballes?".

As regards the largest monument, Pedro Santaeulalia show us on this occasion his project “Falles? o Treballes?”. The design is this and his brother will be on everyone who works in the world of fallas.

Two main figures representing two of our party classic professions, a bunyolera and a coheter “rocket” to reach the finish 20 meters in height. I accompany two children, a symbol of the future of fallas, which are enjoying chocolate and buñuelos.

The different scenes with 40 ninots we show how the month of March arrives and the town prepares to celebrate their big festival, the fallas and neighbors and enjoy Falleros are available on the street. Both make it possible to take as long as possible.

So enjoy all that the fallas are offered: Monuments of ephemeral art, music, fireworks, food, beauty, environment, street, etc … to everyone. Everyone? No, not all. There are others who, on the contrary, those days are devoted to work.

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Pedro Santaeulalia and Ceballos and Sanabria, built 2010 municipal fallas

Pedro Santaeulalia, con su proyecto "Falles? o Treballes?".

The jury unanimously chose the projects “Falles? o Treballes?“ y “Entra i voràs“

On April 3 the deadline for submission of sketches for the conduct of municipal fallas 2010, three projects put forward for a big falla and two for children. The competition this year includes a budget of 230,000 euros for the large monument and 29,000 euros for children.

On Wednesday, April 8 to 13 “15 hours in the Press Room of the City, the jury composed of the elected people’s Lourdes Bernal, Francisco Lledó, Félix Crespo and Pilar Calabuig socialist as well as the general secretary of JCF, Vincente Fayos, announced the winners sketches.

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Castillo Photo:Josep V. Zaragoza

Valencia is a land of pyrotechnics. There is barely an event held in this region, whether public or private, a popular celebration or a simple family meeting, that isn’t accompanied by the noise and smell of gunpowder.

The Fallas, as the prime example of a popular Valencian fiesta, has a highly varied programme of fireworks displays: from daytime “mascletàs” (see the section referring to them) to ever-more creative and exciting pyrotechnical shows taking place at night, starting from the 15th March, in the old Turia riverbed; specifically, between the Puente de la Exposición – called “La Peineta” (The Comb) by locals – and the Puente de las Flores.

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The mascletà itself is like a concert of gunpowder: pyrotechnicians carefully study the rhythm of firework sequences, launches and whistles, combining them in a spectacular crescendo that concludes with the “terremoto” (earthquake): hundreds of “masclets” exploding on the ground simultaneously. All of this happens in barely six or seven minutes.

Mascletà fallas photo:ciberfallas.com

There is no fireworks display comparable to a “mascletà” and the emotions it arouses can only be understood by experiencing it at least once. Read the rest of this entry »

La Crida marks the official opening of the Fallas Festival.

Crowds of onlookers and all the Fallas Committees gather beneath the Serranos Towers, one of historical Valencia’s best-known monuments, usually on the last Sunday in February.

Crida 2009 Photo:Lázaro de la Peña

After a spectacular inaugural display of light, sound, music and fireworks, the “Fallera Mayor” of Valencia (elected festival queen), surrounded by her Court of Honour and the city authorities, invites everyone to enjoy the imminent fiesta, proclaiming its excellence and virtues. Read the rest of this entry »

"despertà"

Although written in Valencian, the term is quite explicit: the “despertà” refers to the act of waking up the neighbourhood. How? Very simple: by setting off hundreds of firecrackers first thing in the morning. The “Falleros” come out into the streets at dawn, armed with a kind of local firecracker known as “tró de bac”, which has no fuse and is set off by throwing it at the ground, making a very loud bang.

This is a celebration that increasingly enjoys the participation of people unaffiliated with the commissions and which takes place in a permanent atmosphere of fun and noise.

"despertà"

In March, Valencia undergoes a transformation: The quiet, hard-working city changes its appearance, its sound, its smell and its rhythm and becomes the venue for an enormous week-long party. The Fallas take over the streets and provide a show that stimulates all the senses.

Cartel de Fallas 2009

It all starts at the end of February. From the ancient Torres de Serranos, the Fallera Mayor (the Queen of the Fallas), chosen from all the falleras of the city, issues the Crida: a call to her people and to everyone to come and join in the festivities. It is the beginning of an unforgettable experience: the Fallas.

The official programme offers a diverse range of activities that run through March, intensifying as the Fallas week (March, from 15th to 19th) approaches. Decorative lighting covers the 370 falla group headquarters spread throughout the city. Valencia becomes an immense and unparalleled museum, born to be destroyed, once its mission is accomplished: the exposure of the negative side of life, exposed to be ridiculed and incinerated.

Falla of the Town hall

If there is one event that stands out above all others, it is the floral offering to the Virgen de los Desamparados (Our Lady of the Forsaken); all the falla groups meet at their casal (headquarters), dressed in traditional costume.

On the night of the 19th of March, St Joseph’s day, the festival reaches its conclusion; the music ends and the last firecrackers announce that it is all over for another year. A year of anticipation and effort is purified and laid to rest through the flames of the bonfires. The falleros stand and contemplate the scene as the fire devours the works of art that were created to be destroyed. The visitor experiences a strange sensation of fascination and understanding of why the fallas must be burnt. The fallero is already planning for next year’s festival; the visitor is planning to come back.

http://www.turisvalencia.es