The small triangular barraca is a sight which is quickly disappearing from the Valencian landscape. These homes, popularized in Blasco Ibáñez’s novel of the same name, have been popular with Valencia’s fishermen and farmers for centuries, but are now becoming endangered — another victim of modernity.

Barraca in El Palmar

Barracas are rectangular, about 9×5 meters, with a steep triangular roof to fend off rain. Traditionally, they’re made of clay, canes & reeds, and have a small top floor which might be used for the storage of silk worms. Entrances on either side allow air to circulate.

The best place to see barracas is in the communities of the Albufera, particularly El Palmar. There, you’ll even have the chance to go inside one — there’s a museum dedicated to them.

If you can’t be bothered to leave the city, there’s another option… but you’ll have to hurry. The last surviving barraca in the city center can be found in Carmen, but the city council is threatening to remove it in favor of a police station (all in the name of progress and modernity, of course!) The address is Calle San Miguel 22 (location).

The Last Barraca in Valencia City

Note: This is a special video edition in our series of posts about The Real Colegio del Patriarca — a building we intending to explore in depth. If interested, read our earlier posst about it:
Colegio del Patriarca - Introduction & History
Colegio del Patriarca - Facade & Atrium

The original name of the Colegio del Patriarca is the “Corpus Christi”, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the week after the popular Catholic holiday was a busy one for the seminary.

Part of the festivities was an extremely long ringing of the church bells. We got a bit of it on video, before our splitting headache drove us back indoors, seeking the numbing comfort of liquor.

The Bells of the Patriaca - Valencia from Valencia Blog on Vimeo.

Real Colegio y Museo del Patriarca
Visiting Hours: Daily, from 11:00 to 13:30h
Museum: €1.50
Location on our Valencia Map

Related:
Colegio del Patriarca - Introduction & History

Now that I’ve seen couple of mascletàs, I can tell which are good and which aren’t… even though the best ones are apparently still to come. But today’s was kind of boring, especially after the awesome mascletà yesterday.

Did you notice the Ninot in the foreground? It’s getting bigger every day, and I’m really excited to see how tall it’ll get.

Does anyone have access to one of the balconies in Plaza de l’Ayuntamiento and, if so, could you squeeze 2 more people in for one of the upcoming mascletàs? It would be nice to video tape one from an elevated angle.

buñuelo m small doughnut, fritter

Oh buñuelo, you greasy ball of dough, so sweet, so wrong, so disgustingly delicious!

You disgusting, delicious little whore, selling yourself on every street corner in Valencia during Fallas, whistling after me as I walk by, “Hey stud, you look hungry”.

“Come and get you some sweet stuff”.

Your taste alone, delicious though it is, wouldn’t be enough to ensnare me. I’m strong. But that scent, that glorious odor of sugar and dough, wafting from every stand… it’s too much. I’m yours. And besides, you’re cheap. Cheap and filthy, just how I like it.

Yeah, that’s good. Next time, I promise that I’ll sample that cute little friend of yours, the churro:

At 7:45pm, on the last Sunday of February, Las Fallas festival is officially inaugurated. We went last night and stood in the rain with thousands of cheering, singing and shouting spectators.

Above us, acrobots hung from giant balloons, and the Serranos Towers (location) were lit up with images and smoke. La Fallera Mayor (festival queen) gave a little speech about something which we weren’t able to translate, and the crowd went even more nuts than before.

Here’s a description of La Cridà from the official Fallas From Valencia website.

La Cridà marks the official opening of the Fallas Festival.

Crowds of onlookers and all the Fallas Committees gather beneath the Serranos Towers, one of historical Valencia’s best-known monuments, usually on the last Sunday in February.

After a spectacular inaugural display of light, sound, music and fireworks, the “Fallera Mayor” of Valencia (elected festival queen), surrounded by her Court of Honour and the city authorities, invites everyone to enjoy the imminent fiesta, proclaiming its excellence and virtues.

Las Fallas are coming up, and with it a full season of events at the Plaza de Toros (location). Here are a few words of vocabulary, which will help you chat up bloodthirsty amigos. We’ll start easy:

1. Matador - the principal bullfighter
This is the main dude — the one who ultimately kills the bull with a sword, or estoque. Matadors are brash, confident and (usually) extremely macho — traits which apparently help bed Madonna.

2. Novillero - The Matador’s Apprentice
During Las Fallas, there will be three days of novilladas, during which novilleros will fight novillos (young bulls). Got that?

3. Picador - Horseman who jabs the bull with lance
These little jerks are just mean. They taunt and bruise up the bull before the matador comes and finishes the job. The coolest thing about the picadors is their horses — blindfolded so that they don’t panic when they see the charging bull.

4. Recortero - Bull Jumper
For those (simpering, lily-livered) aficionados who’d rather not see blood spilled, there are 3 days of bull jumping during Las Fallas. Recorteros dress in street clothes and perform death-defying acrobatic stunts with the bull. The animal isn’t hurt during the performance and is returned to the pin afterwards (to peacefully await eventual slaughter and consumption).

It’s thrilling, no doubt, and quite Jackass-y. To be honest, if I were in a bullring, I’d rather have a sword and a band of spear-wielding picadors behind me. And as a spectator, if a matador gets gored, you’re left with the calming sense that cosmic justice was probably served. If one of these bull-jumpers gets it, it’s like… “Dude, oh man, how stupid”.

Link: Schedule of Events during Las Fallas (pdf)

Last Saturday, I was awoken at 8am by the sound of rifles and church bells. The guns fired every five minutes and the bells sounded uninterrupted for an hour. I was filled with dread — it was my first weekend in the city, and I figured this was probably normal.

It was with great relief that I learned Valencia was celebrating the 800th birthday of King Jamie I - modestly known as “The King of All Valencians”. The bells and rifles were just part of a larger celebration that would last all day. I had a lot of work to do, but I looked at the schedule of events and decided to go to the 2pm mascletá. “Probably a dance”, I thought.

How wrong! At 2pm, I took my place in La Plaza del Ayuntamiento and watched firemen light up an entire square, covered in strings of fireworks. A mascletá, it turns out, is the craziest firework display I’ve ever seen. They’re usually practiced during Las Fallas (in March), but this was a special occasion. For 10 minutes, I was rocked by shock waves, and the finale was ridiculous. I would’ve covered my ears and run away whimpering, but didn’t want to betray my cowardly American sensitivity. Around me, children and little old ladies were laughing and clapping.

I’m starting to get a little nervous about the upcoming Fallas. Valencians are crazy.