Spanish Friday : { Las Fallas }

Spain is known for their crazy fiestas, but Las Fallas in Valencia surely has to be one of the craziest. This fiesta is a celebration of the onset of spring, and what used to be a fiesta for St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, has become a feast of fireworks, gunpowder, bonfires and satire.

This week long fiesta is filled with street party madness, spontaneous fireworks displays, earth-shaking firecrackers, paella and ninots.

Ninots are huge, larger than life sculptures made from polystyrene and wood, traditionally depicting something satirical. Over 350 ninots are displayed all over the city and it is a combined effort from each “falla” or neighbourhood to create their own ninot. This in itself is a project that the neighbourhoods work on for a whole year and is paid for through donations.

At midnight on the last day of the fiesta, all the ninots are set alight and Valencia literally becomes a city on fire. This is one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen, but I must admit, I was slightly terrified. To stand a few meters away from a 4-storey burning sculpture, is quite unnerving, but well worth it!

All in all it was a pretty spectacular event, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone planning to visit Spain in spring next year.

Photos by Design Loving