Blog post by Katy
On Friday, March 6th we flew to Valencia from Paris. At around 730pm we dragged our suitcases over cobblestones for about ten minutes, searching for Plaza Puerto Rico in the Ruzafa neighbourhood. We rolled past the bullring and down a few narrow, winding streets before suddenly arriving at a very full plaza. And by full, I mean hundreds of people packed in like sardines, all staring up at the sky (see below).
We squeezed through the crowd, scanning apartment numbers until we finally spotted #36, a green building (see above right 2nd floor) tucked into the corner of the square. A quick buzz upstairs, an apartment tour entirely in Spanish (no comprendo), and suddenly we were standing on our three tiny balconies overlooking the plaza… just in time to hear a countdown begin.
Then everything went boom. Plaza Puerto Rico lit up in the most spectacular way. Thousands of tiny lights, glowing arches, and explosions echoing through the square like nothing we’d ever heard before. The whole place erupted in cheers.
Well… this was quite the welcome. Our home for the next three weeks.
If you’ve never heard of Las Fallas, imagine a city-wide celebration where art, fireworks, noise, and community all collide. Every March in Valencia, neighbourhood groups build enormous, elaborate sculptures called Fallas and display them in the streets. This year there are over 800. For days the city fills with firecrackers, music, parades, street food, and dazzling light displays that keep the energy going late into the night. Then, on the final night, all but one of the over 800 sculptures are set on fire in huge bonfires called la cremà. A dramatic farewell that symbolizes renewal and the arrival of spring. So far it is loud, colourful, and unlike any festival we’ve ever experienced.
On our first night we closed our three balcony blinds and fell asleep to explosive sounds lasting until 3am. We had purposefully planned our time in Valencia around this festival but nothing could prepare us for what was about to unfold. The next day, we decided we need to go with it so our first stop was the firecracker shop. We bought a box of 12+ yrs firecrackers for the boys and a box of 8+ yrs firecrackers for Olivia. We proceeded to the street with our lit pieces of rope and began exploding firecrackers! Loud piercing blasts echoed off the walls. Ours were the ‘quiet’ ones. All of this would not be legal in Canada so it was definitely eyes wide open for us all!
Las Fallas officially runs from March 15–19, with a packed schedule of events happening day and night. The preparations are already well underway, and from our balcony and the streets in Ruzafa we’ve been watching it all unfold. Every night something new appears, and every morning we wake up to a different view of the plaza and streets. Two days ago we spent the day at the spectacular modern monument of the City of Arts and Sciences (and at the Oceanoraphic -aquarium) and returned home to discover about eight new food trucks had rolled into the square joining our well loved churros truck. Market stalls are popping up too, transforming the plaza into a full festival ground. The kids are already planning their rounds: churros (see below images), bocadillos (large sandwhich), burgers, patatas bravas, cotton candy, sweets and fruit juices.
The location of our apartment honestly feels a bit like living in the middle of the Filberg Festival back home – just with alot more noise and no curfew.
Each community seems to celebrate fallas in their own little areas of town. There are white tents all over the streets during Las Fallas that are temporary gathering spaces called “carpas” set up by neighbourhood Fallas groups. Each neighbourhood in Valencia has its own Fallas committee (called a comisión fallera), made up of local residents who spend the whole year planning their sculpture, fundraising, and organizing events. The tent parties spill into the streets. Last Sunday, we found small fires cooking paella (apparently a Paella competition). It seemed to be an all-day, highly social affair, filled with laughter, conversation, and the smell of good food.
Yesterday we visited the competition museum of ninots. The giant Fallas sculptures around Valencia are made up of many smaller figures called ninots which means “little dolls” in Valencian. Each ninot tells part of the story. They’re often funny, exaggerated, and sometimes a bit cheeky, poking fun at politicians, celebrities, social trends, or everyday life. A single Fallas monument can include dozens of ninots, all working together to tell a theme or visual joke. We voted for our favorite ninot at the museum.
Las Fallas creates jobs across many parts of Valencia. Artists and designers spend the year building the giant sculptures and ninots, while carpenters, welders, and crane operators help assemble them in the streets. Pyrotechnic companies plan the fireworks, and the festival brings plenty of work for food vendors, restaurant staff, musicians, dressmakers, and market stall owners. Behind the scenes, police, firefighters, and city crews also work hard to keep everything running safely. In many ways, Fallas isn’t just a festival, it’s a year-long industry that supports thousands of local jobs.
After seeing hundreds of ninots around the city, we can say they’re truly incredible works of art, unlike anything we’ve seen before. Traditionally they were made from wood and papier-mâché, but today many are built with modern materials that allow for incredible detail and bright colours. Some are several metres tall, with cartoon-like expressions that make them just as entertaining up close as they are from across the plaza.
Next Thursday, March 19th the Fallas sculptures will all be burned to the ground (all night) and from what we understand, when we wake up on the 20th, there will be no trace of the Fallas festival to be found in Valencia. To be continued after March 19th…
It's About the Ride 