Final Fiery Day of Las Fallas

The last day did not end on a high note for me. 

After seeing colored Mascleta the first day. I had been expected it again every day. There was still no color on the final day. I'm getting demanding here....

The Fire Parade in the evening was erroneously publicized to be 6pm, instead of 7pm - a lot of wasted time standing around, good thing it was not raining.

The Fire Parade is really Corre Foc, but a rather measly version. On the other hand, being a sucker for Corre Foc, I should be happy to see any.

Our dumb luck had it that our apartment is half a block from the #1 falla in the whole of Valencia. There were so many people all the time, we had started to walk around the block to avoid traffic. The payoff came at burning (la crema) - our front door was in the controlled zone.

Maybe because we got close, I didn't like the burning. There was fuel poured on the falla, chemical smell from burning paint, black smoke, falling debris & soot, too much heat to enjoy... It seemed brutal, not the dancing/singing around the bonfire as I had imagined.

It is not obvious when each of the fallas actually is set on fire. There is a theoretical schedule. Our two fallas burned exactly on time, but they are #1 and #2 in their categories. Also, this year they are trying to burn the fallas on a new schedule. Can one only burn when the fire department shows up?! It certainly was a very busy evening for the fire department.

Now that we checked Las Fallas off our list, I am not sure we would bother to repeat. It actually made me wonder whether we should return to Saint Eulalia celebrations in Barcelona some time....

Although the final Mascleta had "no color", the large crowd of spectators was exuberant (see short video below) despite a rain shower just before the explosions.



Here are two short videos of the Fire Parade.

The small falla (lower right) near our apartment is about to be burned. And there it goes! And in a dramatic turn, a change in the wind sends an unexpected plume of toxic black smoke our way forcing a retreat into our apartment buidiing.

Thirty minutes later we have front seats (see short video below) to the main event of the festival; the burning of the #1 Special Falla. The falla is surrounded by firemen who alternate streaming water on the falla and the nearby buildings.











Again, after a few minutes the heat, soot, and falling embers force us to retreat (see this short video).

UPDATED: Elements of Las Fallas (before the final day)

 Las Fallas is mind boggling.  We are also seeing it under special conditions.   Two years ago all activities were suspended mid-stream; of course, and nothing happened last year.  Temperatures are 10+ degrees F below average, winds gusting to 70km/h, and the most rain in 84 years!

• Fallas

        There are hundreds of Fallas (firewood monuments) all over the city.  We easily walked by hundreds.  (Tip: to be not dizzy, focus on the 9-10 in the "Especial" category.  Look at their "Infantil"(small) ones, they can be very intricate.  All the Fallas are well lit, so they are )

• Costumes

        The flower-offering-to-virgin Ofrenda event looks like a procession of traditional costume.  There are two streams of procession, for two days, and 10 hours each day.  The rate of participation is unparalleled, men, women, young, old.... Seeing them in the rain, I was totally moved by their determination and dedication.  Such community participation is particularly refreshing from the naked commercial world of the US.  (Tip: there are many good view points, move around and try a few). In the video below, listen for shouts of "Guapa!" and "Guapo" (Good looking!).

• Day time explosion (Mascaleta)

        The main mascleta happens in the City Hall (Ajuntament) Square, daily at 2pm.  (Tip: it's a very popular event, approach maybe 30 minutes before, the effect is most intense at the south end of the square)  There are also small and big explosions all over the place, all day and all night long, more each day.  Everyone is having lots of fun (as in the video below).

       

• Night time fireworks

        The fireworks start between 12 and 1:30, lasting 10-20 minutes, depending on the day,   John thinks return on effect is low. (Tip: the bridges of Exposicio and Flors are both closed, as well as the sides along the Alameda.  Approaching from the southwest, Plaza America is a good place).

The organization of whole enterprise is amazing.  Each day there are people, more roads closed to cars.  I have never experienced a city with so many roads closed for such extended amount of time!

More photos from the Ofrenda.

Beginning in Valencia

While the highlight of our previous visit to Valencia in 2017 was Corre Foc, having been hooked on them from Barcelona, in the process we learned Las Fallas was supposed to be more impressive. When in late January this year we still lacked a destination, I realized there was still the last accommodations be had for Las Fallas, it was a sign that we get to check off Las Fallas this year!

Within the first day, we were treated to powerful daytime explosions and spectacular nighttime fireworks. However what struck me the most was the extravagance of the festival, which easily exceeds the carpetas of Tarma. The whole of city is decked out with hundreds of "Fallas" fantastical whimsical wooden monuments of varying sizes. The mind boggling part is that the "Fallas" are really firewood. At the end of the festival (3/19), everything gets burned as in a bonfire!


Landing on the tarmac at VLC.

A band plays in the front of the train station.

Waiting for La Mascleta - the daily 2pm Las Fallas "La Mascleta" i.e. explosion - in Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

A short video of La Mascleta!!!... ... and when it's finished the crowd cheers "Bravo! Bravo!"

A medium-sized "Falla".

A "Special" Falla near our apartment. And another "Special" Falla with a chessboard theme.

More Southern California

Our main reason for going to Southern California was to visit Sun-Ling's niece who graduated from college in May 2021 and was working in El Segundo. The route to our hotel in Redondo Beach took us from Hollywood to the former Cedars of Lebanon Hospital where my mother worked from 1953 to 1955, the Art Deco Griffith Observatory, and the Getty Center Art Museum (which was underwhelming).

Visiting Sun-Ling's niece Nicole was busy; hiking in the hills above Santa Monica, walking on the beach between Santa Monica and Venice, touring her work place, and eating in Little Ethiopia followed by a fire pit at her house. In between activities with Nicole, Sun-Ling and I made an excursion to check out the Art Deco architecture in San Pedro and its small town atmosphere, and the bustling port city of Long Beach and its Art Deco scene.

P.S. I can't just say the Cetty Center was underwhelming and not elaborate. 1) The Art Musuem collection was slightly above average - minus the Van Goghs it's average - and navigating through the separate 2-story buildings was tedious. 2) The Getty is on a hill and the views were good, but again navigating through the surrounding gardens was way too hard. 3) While the almost compulsery parking garage and funicular ride is necessary to transport large numbers of visitors up and down the hill, it's not very welcoming; more like entering a theme park.

Let's jump right to a photo of Sun-Ling and niece Nicole near Mesa Parker Overlook in the hills above Santa Monica.

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, where my mother worked as a nurse from 1953 to 1955, is now the West Coast HQ of the CHurch of Scientology. Oh My!

Along with many other Los Angelites, we walked up to Geiffith Observatory from Fern Dell Drive. The observatory did not open until noon but we had a fun time getting our photo taken with the Hollywood sign behind us and watching the filming of a "dance number".

The Getty Center Museun was exhibiting "Irises" by Vincent Van Gogh.

I liked "Christ's Entry into Brussels (in 1889).

The Cactus Garden at the Getty Center.

Ourselves at the Getty Center.

Santa Monica Pier and Beach.

Some of the downtown streets in San Pedro were closed in preparation for the annual Christmas parade later in the day. Nice. Let's walk down the middle of the street! There is some cool architecture here starting with the 100 y.o. First Baptist Church and its Corinthian pilasters.

Not to mention the former Kress Building, now Plaza Storage.

The historic Art Deco Warner Grand Theatre.

And finally the historic Art Deco former San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building.

From San Pedro we drove on the 710 over the Vincent Thomas bridge with amazing views of first the Post of Los Angeles, then the Port of Long Beach. The scope of this huge port complex is impossible to capture in photos while driving over the bridge. But how often do you get to drive right down the middle of one of the world's largest ports?

Long Beach was waking up slowly on this sunny Sunday afternoon day and we had fun plotting our way from one Art Deco building to another. But first, out to the Long Beach Convention Center for a look at the harbor and the smokestacks of the Queen Mary in the distance.

Long Beach is connected to downtown L.A. with the Metro Rail Blue Line.

Then on towards the historic Lafayette Condominiums (left).

The mother of Art Deco in Long Beach is St. Mary Medical Center completed in 1937.

And a few more.



Dinner in Little Ethiopia.