Fallas, the huge pyrotechnic party where you never sleep for 7 days and watch a city burn.
Right, lesson 2:
Las fallas are an old tradition in Valencia, and of course, with everything old and fun, no one knows exactly how it started, but what it is now is quite amazing. Fallas is not only the name of the festival, but also a neighborhood group, sometimes a street, sometimes a couple of blocks, that get together every week and do activities and organize their falla. My falla, Arrancanpins, is very different than all the other fallas for many reasons, but we'll get to that later. That can be lesson 3.
So, this group of people, muy familiar (familial and friends), celebrate las fallas together and hire a artist to create their falla. Yes, another usage of the word "falla." No, it's never confusing....but anway, they pick a theme and create their falla, or rather, the artist does. Fallas, the monument, are general satirical and burlesque and look like cartoons brought to 3D life. Some are HUGE, some are small, but all are incredible. After the artist spends years building the falla, they burn it. Yep, it's like watching your professor rip up your senior thesis right after you finished it. It's all symbolic, you know, the cleansing power of fire that burns the winter away and creates new life for spring. Now, there's 300 some fallas in Valencia, and they all have a falla, so imagine 300 or so things burning in the city, down every street. The city is on FIRE.
Welcome to Valencia.
No comments:
Post a Comment