Colour, Sound And
Flame
In
Valencia, Spain, Las Fallas is the street party with lessons in humour,
creativity and letting go
VALENCIA, SPAIN’S third
largest city, is known for its oranges and paella. But by the middle of March,
the world descends here for an entirely different reason: a spectacular,
raucous five-day street party in honour of St Joseph. Las Fallas (pronounced fai-yas),
is when Valencia bursts into colour with gargantuan papier-mâché and wood
statues, and then bursts into flame when those sculptures are burned down.
You can’t miss the city’s
transformation. In the days leading up to the festival, Fallas installations –
dwarf-sized statues called ninots – decorate every street corner and square. In
one lane, cartoon characters and dragons belch fire. In another, politicians
and celebrities stand caricatured with exaggerated noses and lips. And if
you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if children’s book illustrations
came to life, the answer is only one street away.
THE
SPARK
The
origins of the fiery Festival are enshrouded in many stories. “It was a pagan
celebration of the equinox,” says my guide Jose. In medieval times, it started
as a kind of spring cleaning after a long, gloomy winter, when carpenters
burned their heaps of scrap wood. “The carpenters then started fashioning
whimsical sculptures from their scraps, sometimes fashioning a political
comment or a comic tableau. Over the years, the sculptures only got more
extravagant, and competitive. Today, they’re conceptualised and created by a
huge team consisting a principal artist, sculptors, painters and designers in every
neighbourhood, and have become displays of creativity, community spirit and
social commentary. And of course, a big draw for tourists. nostalgia, grin in
mirth or laugh out loud at the satire. Every so often, you’ll also blush. This
year, an erotic and suggestive display,The Kiss, featured dozens of pastel coloured
figures of outsized body parts in suggestive poses. The butt of jokes ranged
from Valencia’s ex-mayor, embroiled in a money laundering scandal, to Spanish
politicians facing prosecution for corruption. Another display, Perestroika
imposed politicians’ faces on to Russian nesting dolls. Disney villains,
grotesque butterflies, true love, Obama, Da Vinci and muscled vikings –
anything goes when you’re at Las Fallas.
THE
PEOPLE
Every year an adult
Fallera Mayor and a young Fallera Infantil are elected to serve as ambassadors
for the fiesta. Practically the whole city – men, women and children show up in
meticulously recreated 18th century costumes. For the men, smocks and breeches
with a handkerchief tied around their necks. But it’s the women who steal the
limelight in voluminous, embroidered gowns of silk, lace or chiffon with lacy
mantillas, their hair braided into discs at the sides of their heads, hoops in
their ears and elaborate combs in for headpieces.
Stick around for the La
Ofrenda the festival day when a procession of women, men and children walk with
bouquets in their hands, led by a band, and cheered by enthusiastic onlookers,
to dress a massive 45-foot-high wooden representation of Our Lady of the
Forsaken. The flowers for the Virgin are collected in synchronised steps by a
team and an impressive tapestry is woven with the flowers on the main façade of
the Basilica. Many women and children are wrought with emotion, dressed in
brocade gowns with full skirts of apple red and leaf green, embroidered in gold
and silver thread with tears streaming freely down their faces.
Another part of the
festival, which takes place every day at 2pm, are the fireworks. This is when
Valencia’s streets transform into cordoned-off war zones. Firecrackers can be
ignited to the strains of music. Throughout the festival, the city is awash in
colour and tradition; the party spirit is contagious, with typical Spanish
bonhomie and strangers chatting and sharing a beer or sangria. Great vats of
paella simmer on pavement grills. There’s special street food too. Try the
bunuelos or pumpkin fritters dipped in hot chocolate and the refreshing Orxata,
a frothy drink made from tiger nuts and sugar, served with pastries.
FEEL
THE BURN
The culmination of the
fiesta is the cremà, when the Fallas are finally burnt down. People squeeze
into balconies, rooftops and rooms of all adjoining buildings, crowds collect
behind cordons to watch the finale. Firemen stand ready, dowsing nearby
buildings to prevent them from combusting. The focus of all attention is the
central towering figure that represents all previous fallas, conceived by
artist Manuel Garcia and reaching five stories high. The Fallera Queen (yes,
there’s a mayor and a queen) for the year lights the first firecracker which
sets off the explosions, that sets the sculpture alight. Cheers and the rousing
strains of the unofficial anthem of the city, Himne de l’Exposició, resound as
each piece of the creation is enveloped in flame.
FACT
FILE FOR VALENCIA
Getting There Fly to Madrid by Emirates through Dubai and connect by train to Valencia. For train
tickets visit www.renfe.com
Where to Stay Stay at the
luxurious Melia Valencia, a little outside the Old Quarter, with modernistic
décor and comfortable doubles. www.melia.com
Do: Visit the Old Quarter
with the Cathedral and the Silk Exchange, the City of Arts and Sciences, walk
in the old river bed of the Turia which is now a public park, and take a guided
tour of the Lladro Factory outside town.
Eat: Try chorizo sausage
and Valencian paella (especially seafood). Drink the local tipple-Agua de
Valencia which has cava, orange juice etc. Another local drink which you must
try is Horchata – a drink made from tiger nuts, accompanied by a breadstick
called farton.
Buy: Silver jewellery,
pottery, leather goods, Lladro porcelain, local wines, cheese and olive oil.
For more information, visit www.visitvalencia.com
By Kalpana Sunder
HTBR18DDEC16
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