February is coming to a close, which means that party time is slowly gearing up. Fallas is right around the corner, and it’s impossible to miss the vibe starting to grip the city.

This Sunday, we enjoyed a very Valencian day. It started with a pilota match at the trinquet Pelayo (location). My hands hurt after a few minutes of watching that sport. We watched a couple matches, the whole time feeling self-conscious. All the spectators knew each other, and all the players knew everyone in the stands. It was like we’d crashed a family reunion. But the game is fast-moving and fun to watch, so we just tried to ignore our condition as outsiders.

Later in the afternoon, we saw a bit of the Cabalgata Infantil — a children’s parade that is not at all interesting unless you have children of your own. Which we don’t. It ended with something you probably shouldn’t bring small kids to: a massively loud color mascletà, at around 8pm.

Mascletàs (video and picture in the following post), parades, pilota… man, and it’s not even March yet. Maybe we should pace ourselves a bit.

Pelota pictures also featuring Fallera Mayor and Fallera Mayor Infantil 2010:

- Pilota in the Trinquete de Pelayo 2009

Despite our righteous indignation at having been turned down for press access to the America’s Cup, duty compelled us to head for the harbor today on the first day of racing and check out the scene.

And so we did, for about an hour. I can say in all honesty, and without the slightest amount of sarcasm that it was the most thrilling, gripping, intense and wonderfully ecstatic hour of my entire life.

Allow me to assist you in imagining the scene: under the austere auspices of the Veles e Vents building, a sparse crowd had gathered! With no way to see the actual race, people had congregated around a large screen! Heavily tanned gentlemen in polo sweaters were everywhere! Alinghi clowns danced among children and possibly delighted one of them! A palpable sense of boredom permeated the air!

Workers darted in and around the crowd, chanting “Or-ac-le!” “A-lingh-i!” That’s right: paid employees were trying to generate excitement by goading people into chanting the names of corporations. Like the spirit of the Olympics, only much more moving and authentic!

Hundreds of schoolchildren were bussed in before the race’s scheduled start time. A brilliant strategy! Children are loud, generate a buoyant atmosphere without prodding and, besides prisoners, are the only people who can be forced into attendance. And you can’t expect sailing fans to mingle with prisoners! The kids made up about a third of the crowd. I felt sorry for them when the race was postponed 6 hours and eventually rescheduled to Wednesday. But at least there were Alinghi clowns.

This America’s Cup is an unmitigated disaster for sailing fans, for the event itself, and especially for the city of Valencia. Friends tell us that the 32nd edition held in 2007, was fantastic; not just exciting on a sporting level, but successful in bringing fame, money and tourism to Valencia. This time around, the constant (and still on-going) litigation has snuffed out any legitimate interest.

So if you don’t get down to the port to check out the action for the 33rd America’s Cup, don’t feel like you’re missing out on too much. You’re not.

More pictures from the 33rd Americas Cup, taken this morning:

- Get ready for Fallas 2010

Levante UD is Valencia’s second team, currently mired in the middle of the 2nd Division table. Their games are in held in the Stadium Ciutat de Valencia, in the northern neighborhood of Sant Llorenç.

Two weeks ago we tried to go to the game against Betis, only to realize that we had no cash on us, and credit cards weren’t accepted. By the time we found a cash machine, it was too late and we opted for a pub.

Loved by Valencians, Los Granotes have enjoyed a decent amount of success over their century of existence, but never won a major title … except for an unrecognized national Cup victory in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. Despite 7 decades of fighting for official acknowledgement of their victory, the title remains off the books.

In 1937, the country was in full blown war. The republican states along the Mediterranean had organized a league and a tournament, called the Free Spain Cup. Just four teams participated, and Levante defeated Valencia CF in the final, 1-0.

When Spain fully fell into nationalist hands in April 1939, the governing sports body refused to recognize the legitimacy of the 1937 tournament. For the past 70 years, Levante has been fighting for credit as the champions of Spain, just as Sevilla were recognized for a 1939 cup victory contested only among nationalist lands. But so far their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

It’s still a politically charged topic, and an interesting look back into sports during and after the war.

More Information at ElPais.com (Spanish)

- A Great Night at the Mestalla

You’ll be forgiven for not already having booked your holiday home or hotel reservation, for the 33rd edition of the America’s Cup, to be held on February 8-12. As of today, the very staging of the event is still up in the air.

“Your sails were made in the US! Not Switzerland!” Seriously, that’s the gist of the current reason for postponing the most important event in sailing.

But should the race actually occur, you’ll be able to watch it live and for free on the official site, americascup.com. For the first time ever, the race will be broadcast live, in its entirety, on the web.

We saw Alinghi’s boat in the harbor recently, and it is truly massive. Word is that Oracle’s is even more insane. So, even though the race features just the two teams, the scale of their boats and the boiling animosity between them almost guarantees excitement.

- Explore Valencia’s Harbour

After a 1-3 loss to Deportivo La Coruña at the Mestalla, Valencia had a difficult task in front of them on the away leg, and were not able to step up.

Things started good last night, with an early 2-0 advantage for the good guys… Monster Serbian Zigic netted both. But in the 2nd half Los Ché were completely listless. It was like a different team playing, and soon enough Depor evened the score and pretty much put it out of reach. Suck.

Oh well… at least VCF is (currently) doing well in the league. Champions League bound!

- Flamenco Dinner in Valencia