Monday, March 21

Come on baby light my Fallas, try to set the night on Fallas!

Happy Fallas! I survived this week of mayhem! I am going to do this week in segments because so much went on. I want to start off saying that Fallas is something you have to experience for yourselves and I know I won't be able to do it justice. I hope everyone can come to Las Fallas sometime! The best way to explain it is just a mix of Carnival in Brazil and Mardi Gras in the States. Ok...here goes...

Tuesday: First day of Fallas and my friends and I went to the Mascletá. It was the loudest one I went to. These are so loud, that people will tell you not to cover your ears and keep your mouth open so that the sound can pass through. At the end of the 10 minute noise show, some people are literally crying because you feel like your ears are about to pop. A bit scary...but it is fun! This was actually my last Mascletá for the fear of going deaf when I am 40. The first picture is the mascletá all set up and ready to go and the second is during with the plumes of smoke filling the Plaza de Ayutamiento.

 
Then we found an Horchatería and ordered my first glass of horchata. I really cannot explain the drink at all. It is made out of tiger nut and it a very popular drink during the summer in Valencia. It has a nutty flavor and it more watery than milky. Very interesting. Here is is. Oh, you also drink everything with pastries here. These were pretty good.


Then we went to the first Castillo of Fallas! It is a fireworks show that can be seen all over the city, but when I say fireworks, I mean FIREWORKS. They shut down the streets near the river and turn off all the streets lights so that you can see the show better. It was amazing! The fireworks got better and better every night and they were all mind-blowingly amazing. They were very big and loud and some of the embers would get close to falling on the crowd. The Spanish aren't really the most careful when it comes to fire....
 

Wednesday: Bullfight! The one thing I said I wasn't going to do in Spain was go to a bullfight but they only occur in Valencia during Fallas and we decided to go. I have to say, I don't want to do it again, but it really is an extraordinary event. The costumes, the traditions, the crowd, the arena. The whole thing lasted about 2+ hours because there were 3 matadors and each one killed 2 bulls. (For those of you at unease, keep in mind that these bulls live a great life- fed well, live in the country side- because they want the bulls to be extremely strong and healthy. And also, all of the meat, which is very good supposedly, is given to homeless shelters in the city.)





One of the matadors got hit by the bull, flipped up in the air and then trampled on. He was able to get away and then he came back and tried to fight but we later found out that he broke two ribs and had a concussion. So the bull did have its way. There is a video with highlights that I will post later. It was just so scary because it happened so fast! It didn't register that he was hit until he was completely up in the air. 

Wednesday night was another night full of fireworks and fun. I will post more later today, so stay tuned!!

Hasta luego.

P.S. In regards to the title, a fun game we started playing was inserting the word "Fallas"into songs. Loved this one.

1 comment:

  1. WOW what an event....except for the bullfight! Are there no animal rights activists in Spain? Look forward to "next installment" and photos/video about Las Fallas!

    Love you, Moms and Pops

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