On Saturday morning I woke up at 5.30am to journey to Valencia for the annual Fallas Festival. We were expecting sunny, blue skies with highs of 14 degrees, but what we actually got was wind, rain and frostbite on my toes, (you big time played me weather app). Nevertheless, we tried to pick ourselves up from our misery and enjoy the day.

The Fallas Festival happens every year in Valencia from 15th-19th of March to honor Saint Joseph, the patron saint of Valencia. This is Joseph, who you may have dressed up as in the Nativity, so Jesus’ ‘stepdad’, or rather earth Dad, hence why it ends on Spanish Father’s Day. Valencia is divided up into different Fallas, (from what I gathered these were different neighbourhoods), and each Falla has their own Falla sculpture made up of ninots. I was surprised by how incredible and detailed the Fallas were considering that they’re designed to be burnt on the final day. The themes vary between Fallas, some make a mockery about certain people in government, whilst others are about wider social issues.

// El sábado por la mañana, me levanté a las 5.30 para viajar a Valencia donde tiene lugar Fallas. Anticipamos tiempo bueno, con sol y 14 grados, en vez, recibimos lluvia, frío y congelación. De todas formas, intentamos de animarnos y disfrutar el día.

Las Fallas tienen lugar cada año alrededor del día el Padre, porque está en honor de San José. Las Fallas, es decir comunidades pequeñas en Valencia, tienen su propia Falla escultura que se queman en el último día. Las temas de la Falla se varian. Algunas se tratan de asuntos sociales y otros se burlan de los políticos.

There was so much going on during that day, and seeing as we didn’t really know where we should be/what we should do, nor do we know Valencia that well, we ended up missing so much! One thing we did manage to see was the parade with all the men, women and children dressed up in traditional Valencian dress. The parade involves carrying a bouquet of flowers to a huge statue of The Virgin, (which we didn’t see, boo), where they’re tucked into her skirt so by the end of the weekend she has a skirt made of flowers. It was so amazing to see family groups and groups of friends showing their Valencian pride in this tradition. I also feel like Spanish women have the beauty gene, because every single lady looked absolutely stunning in those dresses, (which apparently have a starting cost of €1500).

// Habían muchísimas cosas durante el día y porque no conocimos Valencia bien, acabamos de perder mucho. Sin embargo, logramos ver la procesión donde hubieron los hombres, las mujeres y los niños en el disfraz tradicional. Se involucra que las personas traen flores para regalar al estatua del Virgen, (que no vimos), y los hombres las pusieron en su falda para que por el fin, el Virgen tiene una falda de flores bonitas. Me gusta la manera en que las familias unen, y muestran su orgullo para Valencia y tradición. Estoy convencida que las mujeres españoles tienen un gen de belleza, porque todas parezcan hermosas en sus vestidos, (que cuestan al menos €1500).

We spent the rest of the day bar hopping and trying to figure out what our next move was whilst trying to fight serious exhaustion. The whole day is very intense and in hindsight I’m not 100% sure I was really ready for it. There are 1000s of people and once the sun goes down, it’s very much a big piss up with fun little street parties. My recommendation would be to research and Google Fallas beforehand so you know what the fuck is going on and what you shouldn’t miss. Make a loose plan before you get there, in terms of what you want to see, at what times and how long it’ll take you to get from place to place. Finally, we were a group of 6 which I think is just about doable for being able to stay together: any bigger than that would have been a nightmare. You absolutely cannot miss the fireworks at the end of the night, (I was so shit with my camera on this trip so please excuse the lack of decent photos), as they were my highlight.

All in all, I recommend going if you get the chance. I myself would do Fallas again, just very differently from how I did do it yesterday. Either way, I’m happy and grateful I had the experience!

// Fallas es un evento muy intenso con muchísima gente. Aconsejaría que antes de ir, buscar en Internet los eventos y los que no pueden perder. Además, haría un horario vago de las cosas, sus tiempos en el día, y donde están. Necesitáis ver los fuegos artificiales porque fueron el parte más memorable.