NOW THAT the Fallas are well under way, fiesta fans in the Comunidad Valenciana are not likely to let a little bit of rain stop them celebrating for the first time since March 2019.
Well, a lot of rain, actually, but the organisers in Valencia city promised that the traditional flower-offering would still be going ahead, meaning you can now catch the gigantic Virgin Mary with her dress and body made entirely from blossoms.
Falla monuments are normally named after neighbourhoods, although in Valencia city there are so many that they are named after the streets they sit on the corner of. The above picture shows the falla Convent-Jerusalén in 2015 (photo by Sumolari/Wikimedia Commons)
Almost as famous outside Spain as some of its more world-renowned fiestas like the Tomatina – the biggest and messiest food-fight on earth – and Semana Santa, or Easter week, the Fallas hold UNESCO intangible heritage status, meaning their continuity is guaranteed, as is their global attraction.
And they're one of 11 festivals, pageants or general entertainment events that UNESCO recognises in this way, out of a list of 20 intangible heritage features in Spain.
Here's a lowdown on the showy, fiesta-y, musical and general performance-related UNESCO intangible heritage you'll find in the country – and as for the rest of the 20, they're worth a separate article in themselves, so stay tuned to our site for a description and some fascinating photos of those later on, too.
The Fallas (Valencia city and wider province)
As well as the summer solstice, the spring equinox is big in the city of Valencia, its wider province and several towns in the north of that of Alicante and the south of that of Castellón – two days before it falls on March 21, the Fallas go up in flames.
Pronounced 'fah-yas' (a 'll' is a 'y' in the Spanish of Spain), despite the apparent bilingual word-play, the name doesn't come from the fact combustion is involved – and said combustion is merely a way of ensuring the continuity of the massive yearly festival and the jobs of its artists; the papier mâché monuments, or fallas (with a lower-case 'f'), satirising current affairs and famous people (à la Alicante's midsummer Hogueras), are literally the size of a house, and storage is impractical; they cannot be brought out year after year, because they are supposed to be topical; those who build and paint them spend about 10 months on each, meaning they are constantly in work, which they wouldn't be without this apparently sacrilegious destruction.
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