Falla Arrancapins

each falla hangs lights in the streets

Right, sorry, I know I've been a rotten blogger, but the past week has been fallas, so, obviously, I didn't want to even touch a computer, I was busy partying with Valencia, so, to catch up, there's going to be a slew of long posts to satisfying my thirsty followers.

First, I must explain my falla. Each person from my university is placed in a falla, and I had the great luck of being in Arrancapins. Why luck? Because Arrancapins is probably the most alternative falla there is: no fallera mayor (a woman of about my age who dresses up in traditional clothing and waves and smiles at people) because it's sexist and they don't have any real power, doesn't have the normal president/court of honor set-up because they believe in equality and democracy, and constructs their own falla because it's closer to tradition. What does all that mean? It means that for the past 2 months I have been helping to construct my falla, only to have it burn. It means that when they burn it I got a whole different perspective.

paint brushes, dragons, and the bar in the casal

The construction was great for me, because I love working with my hands and building, and also it was a lot easier for me to talk with people because I would be working with someone on a project, so if there was silence, it wasn't awkward, it just meant we were focusing. I sewed, hammered, painted (a lot), and made a fake mascleta. Basically I helped with a little bit of everything. Everyone in my falla was really welcoming and made sure i was always having a good time, which I was. Some spoke a little bit of english so they practiced their english with me, and also helped translate when I didn't understand something. Of course there were times when I couldn't understand anything so when I got home I would rush for my dictionary to figure it out.

working in the streets, rushing to finish the construction

work work work

la plantá- putting it all together, its a huge deal


falla infantil (falla for the kids), an aquarium

falla grande- the theme was "llenya de foc" which means "full of fire" basically, we were commenting on the connection between Valencia and fire, with a lot of play on words, of course complete with political criticism

the dragon, my favorite part

Now you understand a little bit more about my falla, and later I'll start posting about the actual festival, 7 days with little sleep and lots of party.