DESTINATIONS SPAIN & PORTUGAL |VALENCIA


CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The streets of Valencia light up during Las Fallas; La Cremà, or burning of the fallas; Ofrenda de Flores; Oceanogràfic aquarium PICTURES: Mike Water; Fandi


linked to the patron saint of carpenters, St Joseph, whose feast is a public holiday and Father’s Day in Valencia. The candle holders evolved into wooden figures and, more recently, one-of-a-kind works of art. The festival was added to Unesco’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. The word ‘fallas’ covers the festival, the neighbourhood associations and the sculptures themselves, and during the festival the city turns into an alfresco art gallery. About 400 fallas use artisans to craft sculptures that are then judged in a city-wide competition. These incredibly complex creations comprise individual figures, or ninots, some of which are the height of a three-storey building. While some fallas are fashioned into fantastical scenes, many focus on the issues of the day, taking a satirical swipe at politicians or celebrities. Most are free to see – including the monumental, 26m-high official one in the main square, but there’s a small charge to get up close to the most impressive creations. The traditional clothes worn during the festivities are as much a part of Las Fallas as fire. Female falleras don colourful, ankle-skimming, handcrafted silk dresses and wear their hair in elaborate buns studded with gold jewellery.


104 16 JANUARY 2020 The outfits, which can cost thousands


of euros, are at their most beautiful during the Ofrenda de Flores, an emotional parade involving thousands of members of the fallas. It ends with the offering of flowers to a towering 30m-tall statue of the Virgin Mary, installed in the Plaza de la Virgen, her robe created from red and white flowers.


TIME TO EXPLORE Around the festival, there was still time to explore the city. I wandered through the narrow lanes of the Old Town to the Gothic masterpiece of La Lonja de la Seda – the 15th-century Silk Exchange – and the imposing cathedral with its architectural mix of Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque, before climbing the 200 or so steps of El Micalet bell tower for panoramic views all the way to the Mediterranean. In contrast, the vast City of Arts and Sciences is a contemporary complex designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The blindingly white opera house, planetarium and science museum are infinitely Instagrammable, while at the neighbouring Oceanogràfic aquarium, I came face-to-face with a family of beluga whales and walked underneath circling sharks.


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A DAY-BY-DAY GUIDE TO LAS FALLAS


Las Fallas officially begins on March 1, but the main dates are March 15-19 and stay the same each year.


MARCH 15 2pm


Overnight


MARCH 16 2pm


MARCH 17 2pm


Mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento The fallas are erected around the city


Mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento Mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento 3.30-11.30pm Offering of Flowers


MARCH 18 2pm Mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento 3.30-11.30pm Offering of Flowers 1.30am Nit del Foc fireworks display


MARCH 19


2pm Mascletà in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento 7pm


Fire parade along Calle Colón


10pm 12am 1am


Cremà (burning) of the children’s fallas Cremà of all the fallas


Cremà of the official falla at Plaza del Ayuntamiento


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