If you live in a tourist area (or close to one) in Spain, you will probably notice there are many festive days throughout the year... I moved from one of those places, but it looks like where I live has even more festivities! π It's like when you are a younger brother, but you "wannabe" as cool as your older brother... π
Some places have one holiday, others have some other, but my town has it all! They don't want to miss any... π Today, I will show you around the "copy" of the biggest Valencian celebration, "fallas"... Of course, in smaller magnitude, as you can't be higher than the highest church in the town...
Falla San Francisco de Sales
Every place in Spain is divided into barrios, which could be translated as a neighborhood or a district... People in those neighbourhoods gather around and present themselves in all local festivities... and they take it seriously...
Falla Ronda San Pascual
Modeled after Valencia's Fallas, people in my city gathered to make the "modest" version in our place...
A Falla or monumento fallero is an artistic monument, usually large (three to twenty meters in height, sometimes higher) composed of figures called ninots, which typically encircle one or more bigger central figures, called remates. The fallas are placed in the streets during the Falles festival in Valencia (Spain), and in other towns with festivals inspired by it. The monument usually deals with a satirical subject connected with recent news or public controversies, and is covered in posters with words, verses, and statements of a humorous nature. The monument is made with combustible materials (cardboard, wood, paper, clothing, expanded polystyrene, etc.) which are then burned in the streets after being on show for a few days.
Source: Wikipedia.org
Falla Jose Antonio "las 300"
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When there is Fallas, it means there is a lot of gunpowder around, finishing with a big fire when all these spectacular creations are burned... In Valencia, this celebration lasts over 2 weeks with different side events, while in our place, it took 2-3 days...
Falla Trinquete
This year, I took this event more seriously, and I decided to take a photo of as many fallas as possible... They were showcased in different locations in the city, and with my tight schedule, there was no way I could visit all in the same day... In the end, I think I missed only 2 of 11, which is a great success... π It's a nice collection, isn't it? It fits perfectly for the #HiveCollectors community. π
Falla JardΓn de la mΓΊsica
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I'm not sure that it was the same before, but this time, in every neighbourhood, there were 2 fallas... The main one (usually satirical), and the smaller one, which was dedicated to children with motifs from cartoons, movies, or fairy tales...
Falla oficial - Town Hall
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Looking at these artworks, it's not necessary to say that these creations take time to be made... Especially because of the materials they are made from (cardboard, wood, paper, clothing, etc.), but also their size... Those in Valencia are HUGE, but these were relatively big too... Some of them were more than 3-4 meters high! π±
Falla El Huerto
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On the first day, you can see a mobile crane going around the city, constructing these things from separate pieces, patiently prepared during the previous months... And the last day, or better said, night, is reserved for the already mentioned burning...
Falla Zona Centro
Castelar
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Of course, there is a competition for the best "falla", and the first 3 places' replicas are guarded in the museum... Of course, not in the "real size" π... That would need too much space...
Falla Fraternidad
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How do you like these creations and this tradition in general? Did you recognize some of the characters from the photos?
Thank you for your time.
--ph--
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They really take their festive seriously!!! All the fallas are so professional made, do you know if the locals really made it themselves or did they get professional companies to make them? It seems such a waste to burn them afterwards, but then I guess you can't reuse them again
I think every neighbourhood has its "own artist" who prepares them... Not sure about that, but I know it isn't an easy job to do, and they dedicate a couple of months to creating them...
If you are curious about them more, you can find some details here... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falla_monument
I didn't find the exact reason for burning, but I suppose it's to purify those bad/satiric ideas... π
Oh, no, no.
Thank you for your time spent taking these photos and posting them here.
Beautiful.
and it's just incredible that all these sculptures are made of wood, cardboard and styrofoam.
I would be sorry to attend the end of the festival, when they burn them.
I recognized a lot of them, and Alice from Wonderland with the Rabbit and the Mad Hatter is my favorite π
hehehe... Yeah, it looks like everyone recognized Alice... Those "people characters" are mostly local politicians... As they like to criticize them, those faces change after every election... π
Good evening @ph1102; the collection is perfect for this communityβa collection immortalized on Hive. The photos are excellent.
As for Las Fallas, Iβve only visited the ones in Valencia once; it was a time of huge crowds and lots of firecrackers (which was fun). Iβm not sure if they have the mascletΓ‘ in Elda, too. And, by the way, the holidays always seem too short to me.
Thanks for sharing this collection. Have a great start to the week.
Hehehehe... It looks like all Spaniards like mascletΓ‘s! π To be honest, I'm not a big fan of those loud gunpowder explosions... except fireworks...
And yes, there was a lot of mascletΓ‘ here too... π
Holidays were too short... Hopefully, next will be longer... and we will have more fun... :)
Have a great week too! π»
Good evening, @ph1102. I don't know if it's because I'm Spanish, but I certainly do love mascletΓ‘s... I hope your next vacation is a longer one.
All the best.
Your place seems to be so lively. Thatβs nice because it never gets boring. I guess as we get older, we tend to appreciate peace and quiet more, but when weβre still young, itβs really nice to live in a lively place with lots of things happening around us.
You are 100% right about that... If I were a teenager, having this many festivities would be pure joy and amusement... Getting old sucks... π
Wow so interesting and cute! I think arts and culture is always a meaningful way of expression, and there's something for everyone, whether is it just to admire the colours, or go more in depth to understand the history.
In this case, it's more about satire, looking at the current state of society, the country, or politics... Except for those small fallas, which are just cute for children to enjoy...
This is truly a feast for the eyes. I recognized Alice and a few other characters, too. I'd recommend the post for @ourpick ππ
Alice is always present in Fallas... Probably because of the double (or triple) meaning... π
Alice really caught my eye, as seen here
hehehe... nice groove...
That white rabbit in the background is creepy... hahahahaha
Wow your city really has many copy festive.... Yeah I remember some of these characters but still these are many lol and it's good that you saw all these π
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They like to laugh at their local politicians, and many of those faces are theirs... hehehehe... But on those smaller fallas, you can find many fairy-tale characters...
Yeah a lot of fairy tail characters too π
Wow, that is a nice way to represent the event. I think it's good to use characters that people can remember, and I know a few of them. It probably works, otherwise, they wouldn't keep copying it.
Yeah, I suppose it's good for tourists to have something to enjoy, photograph, and make nice memories of... But on the other hand, locals also enjoy preparing them and having fun with friends and family...
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