Fallas

Cristina and I went to see the Fallas last Saturday. The city is full of them. Here are some images from some of them in the center of town. They are made of wood and papier mâché and vary in size from a couple of meters to several stories high. Most of them were still under construction, last Saturday. As of today, they should all be presented and complete, and on the 19th they will almost all be set to fire. No kidding.

In the weeks preceding the festival, small parts of the sculptures, called minots, are selected by the builders and submitted to a temporary exhibition in the the Arts and Sciences museum. The public can vote which single one Falla ( or ninot, I cannot remember ) will be spared from the fire and end up in the Fallas museum. There are also jury-based competitions with several categories.

Many of the fallas critically, ironically and/or satirically address events and persons from the past year in Valencia, Spain or the world. The Fallas festival is a UNESCO world intangible cultural heritage, and besides the sculptures, include local traditional clothing, fireworks ( organized and by individuals, the city is a noisy mess ) and lots of food and drinks. You can find several documentaries on YouTube and elsewhere on the internet.