March 7th was a busy day. After the daily 2pm mascletà, and the special Gran Mascletà Napolitana at the beach, we mustered our remaining strength and went down to Ruzafa. At 9pm, they were turning on the famous street lights of Calle Sueca.
There was a large, boisterous crowd gathered and right before 9pm, it was packed extremely tight. Someone came on a megaphone to say that the lighting was being pushed back 15 minutes, and the crowd groaned and booed. Good-naturedly, of course. A man next to us dropped to his knees in a mock display of agony and pleading.
At some time after 9:15, majestic orchestral music started and the streetlights were lit, one section at a time. First the blues, then the columns, and finally the crown. When viewing it all lit up together, it’s hard not to be impressed, but the "lighting show" was cheesy, and left a lot to be desired. And then they did it /twice/. For the TV or something. The crowd was too busy laughing to "ooh" and "ahh" with the appropriate respect the second time through.
The good thing is, you didn’t have to attend the lighting to fully enjoy the lights. Until the 19th, you have the chance to walk down to Ruzafa and check them out. And grab a few buñuelos from the stand of La Albaceteña while you’re there — they were delicious.
More pictures:
Tags: Calle, Fallas, LED. Lights, Show, Sueca
Valencia
20°
NeoCubes Winner Reddit Friday | Random Good Stuff wrote,
[...] More info: Calle Sueca Fallas [...]
Link | March 13th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Initial walk through the insane Fallas lights of Calle Sueca | Hola Valencia Blog wrote,
[...] the 7th of March we had gone to see the turning on of the street lights. It was so packed we didn’t dare to squeeze ourselves through Calle Sueca once they were [...]
Link | March 16th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Sueca-Literato Azorín: The Monuments of Fallas 2009 | Hola Valencia Blog wrote,
[...] 9th place is a pretty major drop for Sueca-Literato Azorín. At least they’ve got the prettiest street lights! [...]
Link | March 26th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Ruzafa - Information and History | Hola Valencia Blog wrote,
[...] Existing outside the fortified walls of Valencia has given Ruzafa a unique flavor; in fact, it was its own municipality until 1877 and well-known as a hub for the importation of tree trunks (you can see the name “Tronco” still proudly displayed through the neighborhood). Nowadays though, Ruzafa is fully part of Valencia and has even become the heart of Fallas, with huge monuments on almost every street corner and the famous street lights of Calle Sueca. [...]
Link | May 31st, 2009 at 5:33 pm
What is Fallas? | Hola Valencia Blog wrote,
[...] Street Lights of Calle Seuca [...]
Link | July 15th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
The Lights of Ruzafa wrote,
[...] – Calle Sueca Lights 2009 [...]
Link | March 9th, 2010 at 11:53 am