Fiestas : Las Fallas

Overview

The inhabitants of the Comunidad Valenciana, like all good Mediterraneans, love anything and everything that’s to do with fiestas! Not surprising then that there are more than 600 fiestas a year in this region and that all of them have something for all the senses! They are usually noisy, colourful and have an element of ritual. Out of these 600, Las Fallas are without doubt the most important and have come to have national and international recognition. Las Fallas take place from the 15th-19th of March (St Joseph’s day) in Valencia and in many other towns of the region, such as Alzira, Cullera, Gandía, Sagunto, Játiva. However it is naturally Valencia’s Fallas that attract the most interest. The Fallas are a fire festival par excellence and it’s worth visiting Valencia just to soak up the atmosphere at Fallas time. A Falla is basically a frame made out of cardboard, paper, wood and plastic, on which the ninots are placed. The ninots are figures made of papier machée and they depict satirical local, national and international scenes. They make fun of everything and everyone. They are all burned every year on the 19th March; the children’s ones are set fire to at 10pm, the main ones at midnight and the Falla that’s won first prize is burned at 1am.

There are two types of firework displays - and mascletás. The castillos take place at night and Valencia’s sky is filled with explosions of colour and noise. There is always one of these displays every night at midnight in the dried up riverbed, Paseo de la Alameda and the one on the 18th is the most spectacular one of all. The mascletás are different and the local people tend to prefer them. Every Falla has its own mascletá, varying in size according to the importance of the Falla and its budget. The most impressive ones happen every day of the festival in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento at 2pm. The choreographed firecrackers make the windows of the houses in the square reverberate!

There’s not a great consensus about how the Fallas started. Some people think they come from the ancient Roman fiestas “las Saturnales”; others think that the origin isn’t Roman, but Arab and that the word derives from the Moorish “antorcha” (meaning torch). However most locals believe that the Fallas were born in the 16th century when the carpenters collective would set fire in spring to all their left-over materials. They attached everything to a sort of wooden candelabra and dressed it up in old clothes. In time they used this to satirise local people and bit by bit this grew into what we today know as the Fallas.

Las Fallas Today

In 1882 the 19th March became the main Fallas day. The craftspeople who create the ninots sometimes spend a whole year working on them. A few days before the 19th they set up their ninots around Valencia on the 700 or more Fallas around the city. This act of setting up is known as the “la plantá” in the valenciano language. Once all the Fallas are in place, the city gets ready for its biggest event of the year and the arrival of thousands of tourists who come to see it. Tourists will see lots of Fallas as they explore Valencia’s streets, but some of the ones to make a point of seeing are the one in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (Town Hall Square), the people’s Falla (la Falla de todos los valencianos) and the Special Section (Sección Especial) Fallas – these are Valencia’s most important Fallas (at the moment there are 10 of them) and have the biggest budget. They compete for the top prize and are really the Premiership of Fallas. In this section it’s quite common – because of the category, the amount of money that’s been spent and for historical reasons – for there to be some disagreements when the prizes are announced. Not surprisingly the ones who don’t win are hardly ever in agreement with the decision! The Fallas in the Special Section are:
Falla L´Antiga De Campanar
Falla Benicalap
Falla Reino De Valencia - Duque De Calabria
Falla Convento Jerusalen - Matemático Marzal
Falla Plaza De La Merced
Falla Plaza De Na Jordana
Falla Plaza Del Pilar
Falla Sueca - Literato Azorín
Falla La Malvarrosa
Falla Cuba - Buenos Aires

The Fallas Calendar

Although the Fallas themselves only last a week, the Valencia people spend all year getting ready for them! The craftsman starts with sketches of the ninots before constructing them in the workshop. There are year-round activities (meetings, parties, dinners and even theatre competitions where the Falla groups compete against each other) to raise money for the following year’s Fallas. There are two Falla queens – the junior one (often aged between 8-11) and the main one (18 or over) and they are chosen from 13 finalists at a competition in October or November. The other 12 form the court of honour.

January (towards the end)
• In the town hall’s Salón de Fiestas (Ballroom), there’s a reception for the Falla queens and the crowning of the court of honour. It’s held in the town hall, because they are the queens and court of all Valencia, as they were chosen from all of the city’s Falla groups.
• In the Palau de la Música later that day, there’s an official presentation of the queens and their court, called rather grandly “Solemne Exaltación de la Fallera Mayor y de la Fallera Mayor Infantil de Valencia”

February
• In the Palau de la Música, there’s a concert of Fallas music
• Reception and exhibition of ninots in the Ruzafa market (each Falla presents a ninot and the best one – as voted for by the public – wins the prize of NOT being burnt!
• Presentation of the official Fallas book (this tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Fallas and when it all takes place)
• In the Palacio de la Exposición, the Fallas queens are introduced to the queens of the Fallas groups and presents are exchanged.
• “CRIDA”, from the towers, Torres de Serranos. This is the moment when the Falla queens summon everyone in the town to participate and enjoy the fiestas.

March
• From the 1st to the 19th of March at 2pm an event called la Mascletá takes place in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento; this is one of the most popular events with the locals as it involves a great deal of noise! The whole square vibrates to the sound of firecrackers.
• “Cabalgata Folklórica del Reino”: this procession tours the city centre’s streets at night, representing the region’s different areas and villages and giving out local produce, such as wine, fruit and pulses to adults and sweets and toys to the children.
• Procession of children’s ninots and “Mascletà de colores”. This like the other Mascletàs except the fireworks are more colourful.
• “Rallye Fallas": this is an antique car rally that sets out from the city centre in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. The route takes them through some of the region’s villages and the participants often dress up in clothes of the period. The whole event is very picturesque, although there are prizes for the winners.
• A visit by the Falleras Mayores de Valencia to the workshops where the ninots are made in the Ciudad del Artista Fallero
• Final day of the exhibition of the children’s ninots
• On the 14th March (the eve of the Fallas) at midnight there’s a firework display in the Paseo de la Alameda.

15th March
At 8am
Setting up of all the children’s Fallas
At 2pm
Mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento
At 8pm
Official closing of the ninot exhibition
At midnight
Setting up of all the Fallas followed by dinner parties (where everyone brings their own food) on the different Fallas stands. These stands are where the falleros hold their meetings, sing and dance etc. Firework display in the Paseo de la Alameda.

16th March
At 12 midday
In the basement of the Ruzafa market, the history of the Fallas Fiestas exhibition is opened. You learn how and when they came into being with photos and images through the ages.
At 2pm
Mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento
At 4.30pm
A stand is erected (so everyone can see) opposite the Town hall for the prize-giving ceremonies.
Presentations: these are shows that take place in a theatre where each Falla presents their Falla queen with presents.

Nativity scenes: Although the Fallas are in March, the people involved are working on them all year round and at Christmas they make nativity scenes. These scenes are sometimes composed of real people. A panel of judges goes round judging them and on this day the prizes are given out.
Play Back: This is a judged competition where each Falla prepares songs that they dance and mime to.
Falla models: Before the craftsmen produce the final Falla they have had to create a model of it. This competition looks at the models and awards prizes to the best.
Parades: There are two prizes for parades. One goes to the best Falla in the Cabalgata del Reino (see above) and the other goes to the best Falla in the Cabalgata del Ninot (the parade where each Falla presents their best ninot for the prize of NOT being burnt and being an exhibit in the Fallas museum.
Book competition: These books are a bit like catalogues in that they present lots of information about the Fallas – history, names of the participants, drawing of the Falla etc.
At midnight
Fireworks in the Paseo de la Alameda

17th March
At 9.30am
Opposite the Town hall there’s a prize-giving for all the different sections as well as for the ninot processions, the best-decorated and best-lit street competition, the book and the Play back competitions
At 2pm
Mascletà (fireworks) in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento
“Ofrenda de Flores a la Virgen de los Desamparados” This is an offering of flowers to the Holy Mary, protector of children (from 4pm to midnight, this goes though Valencia’s main streets)
At 1am
Fireworks in the Paseo de la Alameda

18th March
At 2pm
Mascletà (fireworks) in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento
Offering of flowers to the Holy Mary, protector of children
At 1.30am
"Nit de Foc" (the night of fire literally translated) in the Paseo de la Alameda. This is the best firework display in the world!

19th March
At 11am
Holy Communion in honour of the patron saint of Valencia, San José, with the assistance of the Fallas queens and their courts of honour
At 12.30pm
From San José bridge there’s an offering of flowers by the Fallas queens and their courts of honour in the presence of the image of the patron saint. The climax to this event is a Mascletà firework display.
At 2pm
Mascletà (fireworks) in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
At 10pm
“Crema de las Fallas Infantiles” This is the burning of the children’s Fallas.
At 10.30pm
The burning of the Children’s Falla that won the prize in the special section.
At 11pm
The burning of the Children’s Falla in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento
At midnight
The burning of all the Fallas in Valencia
At 12.30am
The burning of the Falla that won the prize in the special section.
At 1am
This is the final act and climax of the fiesta and is both exciting and moving. It’s the moment when the Falla that's won first prize goes up in flames to the accompaniment of a fabulous firework display and rousing music (Valencia’s hymn). When everything is over, some people carry on partying into the night in bars, nightclubs and discos while others, who have to work the next day, go home to their beds and the Fallas craftspeople start dreaming about the designs for next year’s Fallas!

With thanks to Iboff for permission to use his photo of the ninots
With thanks to Emilio Requena for writing this guide