Valencia Likes Fireworks. A Lot.

October 9th, the Day of the Valencian Community, got off to a bang as soon as the clock struck midnight. On Thursday night, we grabbed a spot on Paseo Alameda for the international fireworks festival.

golden-shower-valencia

I’m going to make a claim which I can neither prove nor provide statistical data for, but which I believe to be true nonetheless. Valencia is the best place in the world for fireworks. If you are a fan, Valencia is your Mecca. Once in your life, you must make a pilgrimage here.

My God. An entire hour of fireworks, with one brief 5-minute intermission. Who needs an hour of fireworks? Who even wants that?! And it wasn’t boring for even a minute. Highlight after explosive highlight left our ears bloody and bruised, yet still unprepared for the ridiculous finale. It’s hard to be surprised by fireworks or to see something truly “new”, but a spinning fireworks wheel on a gigantic crane? That was new.

You know how when you see a kid who can yo-yo really well? You kind of feel awed by him… his yo-yo’ing is sweet, it requires a lot of skill, and it’s something you don’t see every day. Still, you can’t shake the feeling that the kid is a freak. A weirdo. It’s simultaneous appreciation and alienation. That’s how I feel about Valencia and its obsession with fireworks.

valencia-fuego-artificiales
explosion-valencia
weird-valencia
wow-fireworks-spain
fireworks
sparkel-valencia
feuerwerk-valencia
gold-valencia
white-clouds
crazy-firework

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. martijn

    Once you’ve seen some VLC fireworks, it’ll be hard to be awed by some fireworks that you see anywhere else….

  2. adomon

    Thanks for the video, the pics & the post.
    It has been quite a few years since I couldn’t watch the October Fireworks Festival in Valencia, and this year I was there.
    WOW! You’re right. Forget 4th of July, forget New Year’s Eve.
    If you love fireworks Valencia is the place to be.
    Key dates:
    – Fallas March 10th to March 19th
    – October 8th
    … and many other occassions along the year.

  3. mackers

    Completely agree with you on this one. This was probably the most impressive fireworks display(s) I’ve ever witnessed.

    Personal highlight: fireballs raining into crowd following a few minutes later by a couple of screaming ambulances.

Leave a Reply