Fallas Valencia

I’ve seen Fallas so many times but nonetheless it still doesn’t cease to amaze me. Valencia literally transforms from the 15^th to the 19^th of March, roads are cut off, marquis are set up in the middle of the streets throughout the city and parking is literally impossible. So if you are not a “Fallero” and don’t really take part in the festival in a proactive way it can become extremely frustrating at times. However if you are a tourist and visiting, it is an absolutely wonderful experience. I like to enjoy Fallas in small doses, one day I’ll go to a mascletá in the centre, another day I’ll visit the street lights and normally on the “Nit de Foc” (The Night of Fire) which is the main fireworks display of the festival, I’ll pop down to Valencia with the family and take some time to visit some of the monuments before the big show at 1:30 in the morning. Other than these occasions, I try to avoid going into Valencia at all costs, as the traffic and the crowds drives me up the wall. There is a big difference between being Fallero and part of a Falla, and not.

The Falleros are constantly having meals in the evening, waking everyone up with firecrackers at 8 in the morning with the "despertá", having slept maybe half an hour and they are simply eating and drinking non-stop for a week, so you need to be in shape to keep up with the rhythm or you will be quickly left behind. I tried it for a couple of years but to be honest it was just too much, not sure if it’s the age or lack of practise!

It is very much a “tradition” that the Valencians carry in their blood they don't just enjoy Fallas, they really feel it, effortlessly they conjue up the same sort of energy you might find to get you through New Years Eve and last to the early hours of the morning, only they manage to find enough energy and motivation to carry on for 5 days and 5 nights. Even the kids don’t get tired, blowing up firecrackers all day and all night, at times it seems like a war zone with explosions left right and centre. This is another reason why we don’t tend to go down to the centre too often, because to be honest as much as tradition dictates, copious amounts of alcohol and gunpowder aren’t a great cocktail and is often a recipe for disaster, especially in the early hours of the morning.

In fact, this year we had a near miss. While we were waiting for the fireworks display to start near the river, along with another 100,000 people at least, some idiot on the fourth floor of an apartment above the crowd decided it would be funny to set of a rocket amongst the people below. As I looked up a group of drunk youngsters were shouting and laughing and seemed to be having a great time until suddenly an object blazed towards us from above, leaving a trail of fire behind it. Everyone started to scream and fortunately it hit the ground directly and ricocheted off between the people just a few metres from us. Amazingly no one was hurt nor did it crash into any of the many prams around us. Unfortunately this is all part and parcel of the celebration, and there are idiots everywhere, so when you do go out at night in Fallas, you need to keep your wits about you!

But don’t let this scare you off, Fallas is a very unique event and can be very entertaining and if you are looking for things to do there is no shortage; visiting the sculptures and monuments, visiting street lights, admiring the flower procession to the Virgin Mary, fireworks galore, street parties, free concerts in the parks, synchronised firecracker displays that make the ground tremble and the windows rattle, street bands, bullfights, night time markets and a lot more.  So Valencia is really a fantastic tourist destination this time of year, unlike anything in the world.

 Having been here a long time now, this year we decided to take it easy and go for a long walk around Valencia and visit some Fallas and enjoy some more chocolate and buñuelos. So we headed down to the centre and began our odyssey to find a parking spot. Eventually after a ridiculous amount of time we finally found one! We walked and walked and walked and
 then walked some more. My feet were killing me but I must admit we saw some wonderful Fallas as we went around the area of Ruzafa, as well as the prize-winning streetlights. This is one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Fallas as it is so varied and so much on offer. We saw the fantastic music and light show in the Calle Cuba, a synchronised work of art. From there we continued to the Calle Sueca and wondered through the artisan street market where one
 could find anything from homemade sweets to personalised jewellery,

as we fought our way through the crowds we eventually reached our friends Falla where we were going to help out with the Paella this year, if you have read my article on Paella you might remember who I'm talking about, the one that was banned for always winning the yearly competition! This year we weren't competing but just having some fun. The paella was soon made, which was absolutely fantastic, by the way, and it is so much more fun when you are cooking over a log fire. The best wood for this is orange tree wood, which is very dense and burns slowly.

The paella was served; we ate and went on our way to see a few more monuments before the fireworks display.  I managed to record the last eight minutes of the 20-minute show to give you an idea of just how amazing it was, especially the last 60 seconds, which was the Grand Finale and also the end of out night out. We managed to sneak in another round of chocolate and churros on the 3 km walk back to the car with sufficient sugar to boost anyone back into action, well just about anyone. We were dead and headed straight for bed!

Hope you enjoy the photos and my video! 

Here are some images from this years Fallas Bull Fighting Fair 2013.

On more than one occasion the Toreros has a run for their money and nearly lost the battle!

 This year the Falla of Covento Jerusalen has recovered it's crown by winning the first prize for the best Falla in the first category. It has always been one of the top contenders year after year but over recent years Nou Campanar has removed it from it's glory. Howeve this year the tables turned after Now Campanr decided to change their style and present a rather "different" style of Fallas, which didn't go down well with all the Judges, none the less they managed to take second prize. Lastly the councils Fallas whihc is positioned in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento has caused a lot of controversy amongst restaurant owners as a "Paella" is depicted in the Falla, which acording to local opinion appears more to be a pizza or "God know what!". As the paella is such an important expression of identity for Valencia and especially as it has recently been awarded it's "Designation of Origin" people were shocked to see a lobster and sausages in the paella along with mushrooms and other ingredients that shouldn't get anywhere near a Paella Valenciano.

These were the winners :

Convento Jerusalen 1st Prize

2nd Prize Nou Campanar :

Council's Fallas - PLaza del Ayuntamiento 2013

Fallas in Valencia is famous for its towering papier-mâché statues, firecrackers, fireworks, bullfighting and traditional dress. However there is one other aspect that is very popular all over Spain when festivals and celebrations come around and that is lighting up the streets with decorative lighting. In fact we all do it all over the world so you might be asking what’s so special about that?

Well Valencia likes to do things to the extreme, especially in Fallas and street lighting is not different. One particular area in Valencia has taken street lighting to another level where they compete year in and year out for the most spectacular lighting. If you haven’t seen this before it is quite something. The first time I saw these streets decorated I was literally blown away and it is something that I always try and make an effort to see each year. The neighbourhood of Ruzafa is literally another world in Fallas. The millions of light bulbs, now LEDS, used to dress the street is breath-taking and I have no idea how the locals manage to get any sleep if they don’t have shutters, the sheer amount of light given off is blinding and puts most Christmas decorations to shame!

Just last weekend was the official “lighting” of the streets and the crowds united to see the favourites, Calle Cuba -Litorato Azorin and Calle Sueca-Litorato Azorin, two eternal rivals in this competition. This Sunday the winner was announced and Calle Cuba managed to claw back their crown from the previous winners from Calle Sueca. To be honest it was a close call they were both spectacular. However this year with the crisis they are all slightly more conservative than before, nonetheless they were really special. I highly recommend you walk around this area during Fallas, as it is quite unique. To give you an idea the first-prize winners used more than 850,000 bulbs to light up their street!

FIRST PRIZE WINNERS 2013 : CALLE CUBA - LITORATO AZORIN

SECOND-PRIZE WINNERS 2013 : CALLE SUECA - LITORATO AZORIN

STREET LIGHTING FROM PREVIOUS YEARS - SAME NEIGHBOURHOOD

Bring your sunglasses!

This the the first mascletá of Fallas 2013.

Every day at 14:00 in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento from the 1st of March through to the 19th of March a Mascletá is held. It is best to get there early as the crowds build up very quickly. If you manage to get close enough you will experience something rather special, the smell of gunpowder and the vibrations and noise is quite overwhelming. One thing you need to make sure you don't do, is cover your ears with your hands, you might actually hurt yourself. The trick is to keep your mouth open so you don't hurt your ear drums! Sounds like madness I know but I can assure you, it is!!

And this was the mascleta for "La Crida" in February just before Fallas officially started! It means "the calling",

ie. the City is summoning everyone to the celebrations of Fallas.

Fallas is going full steam ahead and this weekend brought my first taster this year of the traditional buñuelos and churros with hot chocolate. Buñuelos and chocolate are very typical this time of year in Valencia. There are stands all over town selling freshly made buñuelos and churros it goes hand in hand with the celebration so if you come to Valencia you will have to try them. Now I have to admit they are not necessarily the healthiest snack in the world but they are just so incredibly moreish and on a cold afternoon in March they quite simply go down a treat. My favourites are the “pumpkin buñuelos”. Buñuelos are basically sweet doughnuts, which are deep-fried and very crispy on the outside if they are done properly. In Valencia it is very common to include in the dough mixture pumpkin puree that gives it that special taste.

So if you are coming to Valencia for the first time or you are looking to try this treat for the first time here is my recommendation. I’ve eaten buñuelos and churros all over Valencia for the years on end and I always end up going back to the best place in town, which is where we went this weekend. The family run “Horchateria El Siglo” is by far one of the most established bars in Valencia, it has been running uninterruptedly since 1836 and offers the best chocolate and buñuelos in Valencia and also some of the finest Horchata available. It is a very traditional Valencian bar, it looks like it hasn’t been done up for fifity years but don’t let that scare you off as you will be in for a surprise. This is “the” place to enjoy chocolate and buñuelos or churros in Valencia, a reference place for tourists and a place many Valencian families lovingly call their “local” generation after generation. It lies a stone’s throw away from the Cathedral in the centre of town, on Santa Catalina Street, you can’t miss it as you will see the ladies making fresh churros and buñuelos just out side the front door as they and their predecessors have done for well over a century. So one thing is for sure if they haven’t perfected the art after so many years, no one has. It is well worth a visit!