March 15th – Fallas is now truly underway! A few weeks ago the city was awoken by the Despertà and ever since we’ve been running ourselves ragged, trying to attend as many Fallas events as possible.

La Planta officially starts today, lasting until tomorrow morning when all the Fallas monuments should be completed:

Make sure to watch the end; kind of funny.

The most famous food during Fallas is the buñuelo — donut-like fried treats made from pumpkin, which you dip into hot chocolate. You’ll find stands offering this sinful delight all over Valencia (Ruzafa has the most). Walking from monument to monument costs a lot of energy and buñuelos are even better than Red Bull for an energy boost.

Filmed with the Sanyo VPC – CS 1 (super tiny) available here: USA, UK, Deutschland and Spain

 

Here’s a rundown of the main events for the next few days:

La Plantà
All over the city, Fallas commissions will be working to set up their monuments. A lot of the work has already been done on the larger monuments, but the groups officially have until tomorrow morning to finish. Traditionally the monuments are raised completely by hand, but the larger ones all employ cranes nowadays.

Fireworks Show
Tonight at midnight is the first fireworks show at Paseo Alameda. These shows are always incredible, so it’s worth staying up late. On the 16th and 17th the fireworks will start at 1am and on the 18th (the famous Nit de Foc) they’ll begin at 1:30.

Flower Offering: From 4pm until well after midnight on the 17th and 18th, traffic in the city center will be brought to a standstill as Falleras carry thousands of flowers to the Our Lady of the Forsaken in Plaza de la Virgin.

Here are some random Fallas pictures I took over the past few days:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For hostel/hotel bookings during Fallas, we’ve found the best rates at Hostelbookers, Booking.com and Apartments in Valencia

Filmed with the Sanyo VPC – CS 1 (super tiny) available here: USA, UK, Deutschland and Spain

Thanks to a very fortunate circumstance, we were able to experience today’s mascletà from the top of the Ayuntamiento. It was a good day to be on top — the streets became very packed, very early. We had an incredible view of the fireworks and the plaza, and hope that you enjoy our pictures of the bird’s eye perspective on this extremely loud mascletà.

After the fireworks, we were able to go onto the balcony and meet the Fallera Mayor, Maria Pilar Giménez, and the Fallera Mayor Infantil, Ariadna Galán. Both of them are even more stunning from up close — we were floored as much by their beauty as by their poise and warmth. At 9 years of age, Ariadna is amazingly confident and well-spoken. (I was still picking my nose and playing Magic at that age). And I got a kiss from Maria Pilar — sigh, I’m still swooning. What a day!! Just when we think Fallas can’t get any more exciting, something new comes along.

 

 

 

For hostel/hotel bookings during Fallas, we’ve found the best rates at Hostelbookers, Booking.com and Apartments in Valencia

Filmed with the Sanyo VPC – CS 1 (super tiny) available here: USA, UK, Deutschland and Spain

A huge crowd was on hand for today’s mascletà, set off by the company Crespo. The sun was shining and people seemed to really appreciate the show. But Valencia’s mayor enjoyed it best of all! Her jumping had more energy today, perhaps because the pyrotechnician was young and muy guapo. Rita, you little cougar, you!

For hostel/hotel bookings during Fallas, we’ve found the best rates at Hostelbookers, Booking.com and Apartments in Valencia

Got any plans today? I sure hope not! And if you’re well rested, that’s even better. Make yourself a healthy breakfast, because you’ll need the energy for today.

Before we start with the rundown of today’s events, some interesting news: Cuba-Literato Azorín won this year’s Fallas street light competition.  Well deserved and their win will hopefully mean even crazier street lights for Fallas 2011, as Sueca-Literato Azorín attempts to regain their crown.

Here are the day’s main events.  It bears saying that in every neighborhood of the city, there will be smaller events all weekend long – from mobile discotheques to sing-along playback competitions, from street paella to mini-processions. We recommend picking up a local paper – Levante or Las Provincias – because the list of events is overwhelming.

• Mascletà at 2pm
• Moors and Christian parade at 7pm here
• Cabalgata Folklórica at 10:30 pm C/ Paz, Ayuntamiento, C/ Játiva
• Mascletà de Colores after the parade in Ayuntamiento (some say at 11:30pm some say at 1am – does anyone have more info?)

Anything missing? Feel free to share your Fallas 2010 pictures

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For hostel/hotel bookings during Fallas, we’ve found the best rates at Hostelbookers, Booking.com and Apartments in Valencia

Filmed with the Sanyo VPC – CS 1 (super tiny) available here: USA, UK, Deutschland and Spain

"Movin on up!" Nope, not The Jeffersons, but the Hermanos Caballer! Last year, they handled the March 7th mascletà, but in 2010 — March 12th! That’s a generous recognition of their talent and after today’s performance we’ll surely see their ascendancy continue. Incredible. Me? I just like that their name is "The Gentleman Brothers". You know that’s going to be classy

 

For hostel/hotel bookings during Fallas, we’ve found the best rates at Hostelbookers, Booking.com and Apartments in Valencia