For the people of Valencia, the days between 15th and 19th March are unarguably the most important ones of the whole calendar. During these days, local people celebrate the Las Fallas Festival in Valencia in order to welcome Spring and honor the city’s patron Saint Joseph.
These days, Valencia is an endless sequence of events, celebrations and parties, and if you think to visit Valencia, the Las Fallas Festival is the perfect week. For these days the city gets decorated with giant sculptures called “fallas” which represent famous characters from real life, like politics and also from fantasy like fairy tales. The figures that are in the fallas are called “ninots”. Each falla has its own significance, and every year they construct around 400 in the whole Valencian Community. During the Fallas Festival in Valencia you see one on almost every corner of the city, and these fallas always come in two, there’s a smaller one for the children called falla infantil, and a bigger one for the adults.
Every day between 12.00 PM and 2 PM they do the “mascletà”, that is, in each falla they explode a lot of firecrackers that make a tremendous noise. The buildings are really shaking and this really strong sensation raises the adrenaline level in all the participants.
17th March is the day of the “Madonna la Virgen de los Desamparados”, and this day the members of each of these falla groups bring flowers to the wooden sculpture of Virgin Mary that is found in the square named after her, la plaza de la Virgen.
The night of 19th March is the most beautiful and also the saddest moment of the festivities. The city gets filled with smoke and the smell of burning, since at night they hold the “cremà” during which they burn these beautiful sculptures. At 10 PM they start with the fallas of the children, later, around midnight they burn the large ones, and they leave the main falla situated in the square of the town hall for last, which gets burnt at 1 AM.
The moment of the “cremà” is a very special and emotional moment. When the children’s fallas are burnt, the little girls (called falleras) dressed in traditional clothes start crying, because the festivities are finished. These falleras are picked in a quite tough selection, and then they spend quite a lot of time together before the fallas and make good friendships between each other, so the burning represents the end of this era for them, which makes them especially sad.
Attending the “cremà” during the Las Fallas Festival in Valencia is something you will never forget. You hear the loud noise of firecrackers, and then these giant statues start burning. The most emotive moment is when the top part of the sculptures falls down into the fire. Hundreds of firemen work during these events to avoid that buildings or trees around get burnt.
To visit Valencia during the Las Fallas Festival is probably the best moment of the year. If you visit Valencia these days, you will have a trip full of emotions and traditions, we can just recommend you to travel there then next year!
We were lucky to assist the Fallas Festival in Valencia being very close to the action thanks to Visit Valencia, and in their webpage you can get all the information you want about the city of Valencia.
The following photos speak for themselves…
If you want to know more about visit Valencia in 3 days and where to eat the best Paella in Valencia you cannot miss the next posts!
Wow- those floats look amazing! Looks like an incredible festival to attend!
Thanks!
That was quite a festival! The sculptures are stunning. You are indeed very lucky to witness an event like this.
Yes, we were very lucky to see this festival from so close!
Wow, these fallas are incredibly detailed. So artistic. I have never heard of this festival but I would love to visit and see it one day. Thanks for sharing, your photos are beautiful
Thanks Kate! The Las Fallas Festival was beautiful, it was easy to take beautiful pictures!
Amazing photos! I’d love to visit Valencia during las Fallas and see the spectacle. Just wonder whether my lungs could take all the smoke:o
I hope you can visit Valencia for these dates one day, and yes, you have to be prepared for the smoke:)
Cool shots and it seems like an interesting events, but I’d like to see Valencia anyway, it doesn’t have to be for this. 🙂
Perfect timing, I actually read a post about Valencia this week – I would love to get to Spain, and Valencia is on the list – will have to try and plan the trip for next March so I can take in Las Fallas. Beautiful photos!!
Thanks Meg! I hope you can arrange your visit to Spain next year and experience the Fallas Festival!
I can understand why the burning makes the little girls so sad 🙂 What great traditions to read about! Those fireworks seem really intense, too! 🙂
Yeah, we also felt quite sad for them, because they seemed really desperate…
I was in Valencia for the festival as well. I was actually studying for their winter term at the University of Valencia in Gandia, just a few minutes south of city, right on the coast. We were coming back from Barcelona, and ran into the festivities, at first we thought it was an austerity riot, with all of that smoke and firecrackers, but then it became obvious we really had arrived during the festival. It was an amazing experience.
Yeah, I can imagine that the smoke and the sound of the firecrackers can make you think that you are in a riot:)
What an awesome time to be there! Did you go specifically for the festival or just happen on it? I’m seriously just taken aback by those photos!
Thanks Mike, it’s really kind of you! Our blog is mostly dedicated to local traditions, so we went to Valencia that week on purpose.
Wow. What an incredible event on so many levels. Thanks for sharing this and enlightening those of us who had no idea this ritual existed.
Thank you Elaine! This festival is really special, I agree with you on that totally!
It looks amazing! I haven’t heard of this festival before! I love your photos!
Thanks!
Wow what stunning photos – you really captured the spirit and vibrancy of the carnival in your photos. I didn’t even know they had a festival like this in Valencia!
Thanks Anna! Yes, actually this is probably the most vibrant festival we ever attended!
I didn’t know about this but it looks so cool and fun! I want to go next year.
Wow. Never heard of this before. I thought you were at Disneyland in another country!
Wow, what an explosion of colour and detail. Looks like an amazing experience, great photos too!
Thanks so much guys!
Oh wow what amazing photos, I feel like I can jump in with these floats and be a part of the festival. Thank you for highlighting it, I did not know it existed.
Thanks so much! I am happy you liked it!
Nice pictures!
Thanks!!
So jealous I missed this! I was in Valencia just a month later. What fun!
Yeah, this is really one of the greatest festivals I have ever been to! Hope you can make it to it another year!
Fallas is the most amazing festival I’ve ever been to. Its so welcoming of everyone, from families with young kids, to old spanish pilgrims coming for the St Joseph day celebrations. A week long event where tourists can get lost amongst the locals.
Its unbelievable how processions can start at around 10:30 every day and run to thousands of people, all in local costume, making their way through the streets with bunches of carnations to build a huge effigy of the madonna in front of the cathedral. People just keep coming, right though until late at night. Meanwhile crowds eat and drink in festive spirit all day every day only stopping at 2pm for the loudest imaginable firework display in the city centre, followed by outdoor bar-be-que parrilla lunches. The best street doughnuts I’ve ever eaten called bunuelos made from pumpkin dough and filled with figs or dusted with cinnamon and an evening of beer and tapas, hearing music in the streets or locals singing and banging drums in packed bars around town, followed by another display at around midnight, again amongst the most colourful and balletic I’ve ever seen anywhere.
The sculptures are so sophisticated you would never think they are made out of wood and paper just to be burnt on the last day of the festival. An amazing week.
hi! Thanks for sharing your story on our blog!