Fallas, Pagan Festival of Fire!

Hola Amigas y Amigos,

It's Fallas week! You have to hear Fallas to understand what it's all about, and the next best thing is seeing it. What it sounds like is explosions everywhere, beginning with caps stomped on by toddlers barely steady on their feet, through firecrackers tossed by eight and nine year olds, all the way up to the mighty explosives used by the Government (El Ayuntamiento) at the daily Mascela. And what is a Mascleta, you may ask?

Every afternoon at 2 p.m., beginning on March 1st, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento fills with spectators for this exciting celebration of, well, the power to explode fireworks so loud, so explosive, observers are reminded to keep their mouths open to insure they don't damage their ear drums. It sounds a little strange, but having witnessed the Mascleta twice now, it's fun! Especially if you stand upwind, so the smoke will blow away from you.

The first time we attended the Masceta was on March 1st, opening day. The Princesses filled the balcony of the government building which used to be the Town Hall; their job seems chiefly to embody the traditional costumed beauty of the Valencian region. They give parade waves to the adoring masses before the explosions begin, and then watch approvingly as the air above the plaza fills with fire and smoke.

The program consists of 3 essential stages, and although it is sponsored by a different neighborhood association and directed by a number of pyrotechnic experts, each Mascleta includes the:
Inicio A volley of glittering fireworks to light the daytime sky
Retenciones Groups of explosives that build the excitement and rock your body
Terremoto The grand, concussive finale you can feel all the way to your core - in fact, we can hear it from our apartment, a mile away!

On my second viewing of the Mascleta, I stood with our friend Sol amidst a much larger crowd and waiting half an hour (we arrived an hour early the first time and stood at the very front, just behind the baracades). To amuse the crowd, music began at 1:50 and extra large balloons were dropped from atop a building just above our heads; these were passed around like surfers in a mosh pit. At two o'clock, the crowd began to chant for the fireworks to begin! Suddenly red flares shot into the air from the fenced off area, and the booming, brilliant, smokey extravaganza began again! For somebody who hates loud noises and crowds, I have to say it was a blast, really.

Even as we left the Plaza, slogging along with the thousands of Valencian citizens who had shared the experience, I was glad to have spent an hour witnessing it once again. As we swarmed those hapless drivers trying to pass through the center of town at this most terrible hour, I remembered what I read about the running of the bulls in Pamplona: one reason few people get hurt participating in such a dangerous sport is that bulls are programmed to follow their buddy bulls, so they barely notice the silly humans in their way and simply go around them, unless the bulls fall down. In this same way, we spectators avoided the cars, and the cars avoided us.

We'll keep you posted this week as Fallas heats up, culminating in the fantastic pagan ritual of burning the gigantic effigies! Linus will give a full report. For photos and more information, check out the following web site:

http://www.cyberspain.com/life/fallas.htm

Hasta pronto, Margot Mark y Linus