Effigies of Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) burn during the finale of the Fallas festival earlier in March. according to reports, the Spanish people are quickly running out of patience towards the government's austerity plans.Reuters
Effigies of Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) burn during the finale of the Fallas festival earlier in March. according to reports, the Spanish people are quickly running out of patience towards the government's austerity plans.ReutersAn effigy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) burns during the finale of the Fallas festival, which welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day, in Valencia in the early hours of March 20, 2012. Fallas are giant elaborate sculptures and effigies made of wood and plastic that are burned at the end of a week-long spectacle of processions, fireworks, music and dancing.ReutersA firefighter sprays water to control the burning of effigies during the finale of the Fallas festival, which welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day, in Valencia in the early hours of March 20, 2012. Fallas are giant elaborate sculptures and effigies made of wood and plastic which are burned at the end of the week-long spectacle of processions, fireworks, music and dancing.ReutersEffigies burn during the finale of the Fallas festival, which welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day, in Valencia in the early hours of March 20, 2012. Fallas are giant elaborate sculptures and effigies made of wood and plastic that are burned at the end of a week-long spectacle of processions, fireworks, music and dancing.ReutersA craftsman puts the finishing touches on a giant figure ahead of the "Fallas" festival in Valencia March 15, 2012. The festival welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day with the burning of giant elaborate sculptures and effigies of wood and plastic in the early hours of March 20, 2012.ReutersA craftsman puts the finishing touches on a figure ahead of the "Fallas" festival in Valencia March 15, 2012. The festival welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day with the burning of giant elaborate sculptures and effigies of wood and plastic in the early hours of March 20, 2012.ReutersA craftsman puts the finishing touches on a figure ahead of the "Fallas" festival in Valencia March 15, 2012. The festival welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day with the burning of giant elaborate sculptures and effigies of wood and plastic in the early hours of March 20, 2012.ReutersA craftsman puts finishing touches on a figure sitting on a representation of an Apple computer ahead of the "Fallas" festival in Valencia March 15, 2012. The festival welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day with the burning of giant elaborate sculptures and effigies of wood and plastic in the early hours of March 20, 2012.ReutersFigures of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (L), German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are pictured ahead of the "Fallas" festival in Valencia March 15, 2012. The festival welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day with the burning of giant elaborate sculptures and effigies of wood and plastic in the early hours of March 20, 2012.ReutersCraftsmen puts finishing touches on a giant figure ahead of the "Fallas" festival in Valencia March 15, 2012. The festival welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day with the burning of giant elaborate sculptures and effigies of wood and plastic in the early hours of March 20, 2012.Reuters
The festival of Las Fallas, in the city of Valencia in Spain, is the kind of event that brings the entire community together... it is a loud, smoky and high-spirited fiesta where the whole town is, literally, set ablaze!
The festival welcomes spring and honours Saint Joseph's Day with the burning of giant elaborate sculptures and effigies of wood and plastic.
It all started as a feast day for St Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. It then evolved into a five-day, multifaceted celebration involving fire. Today, an estimated three million flame-loving revelers are part of the Las Fallas celebrations.
The focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of puppets - which are made of huge cardboard, wood, papier-mâché and plaster. A popular theme is poking fun at corrupt politicians and Spanish celebrities. The labour that goes into the creation of each statue takes almost a year in its own right.
According to the legend, Las Fallas originated as an evolution of pagan rituals that celebrated the onset of spring and the planting season. In the sixteenth century, Valencia used streetlights only during the longer nights of winter. The street lamps were hung on wooden structures - called parots - and as the days became longer the now-unneeded parots were ceremoniously burned on St Joseph's Day.
During the event, one can enjoy bullfights, parades, paella contests and beauty pageants. Spontaneous fireworks displays explode everywhere during the days leading up to La Crema. The highlight, though, is the daily mascletá which occurs in the Plaza Ayuntamiento at exactly 2 pm.
