1


C Festivals Writing a description THE FALLES FESTIVAL


Valencia, Spain 15–19 March Special events: fireworks, street parties, parades, street sculptures A


Street sculptures, called falles, are


important at the festival. Each neighbourhood makes its own falla for the celebrations. A local committee chooses a team of special artists to make the falla. It also organizes events to raise money to build it. The massive sculptures are made of cardboard and wood, and other materials that easily catch fire. Many are about 15 metres high. Typically, a falla takes 12 months to make and costs between €200,000 and €700,000.


B During the festival, you can see


350 falles all over the city, in squares and on street corners. On the first day, there is a competition to choose the best falla. The very popular falles are often humorous and make fun of local politicians and celebrities.


C Fireworks are a big part of the festival.


There are displays at midnight every night. Each display fills the sky with incredible colours and lights and lasts 20 minutes. The biggest display, the Nit de Foc, is on the night of the 18th


. Every day at 2 p.m. crowds of people


come to Valencia’s main square for a display of powerful firecrackers and fireworks. This noisy event is called the Mascleta and you can hear the firecrackers many kilometres away.


D The final event of the festival is the


Crema, the burning of the falles. At around midnight on the last day, the sculptures are set on fire, one by one. For Valencians the burning of the falles symbolizes the end of the winter.


20


English for the 21st


Century • Unit 1


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