Valencia in Fallas

Well, Spring Break has gone by in the blink of the eye! The majority of it was taken up, ever so pleasantly, in the Valencia festival called Fallas. This is a very old, very awesome holiday, and this last week contained its culminating celebrations.

My first encounter with the Fallas this week was on Monday, when my friend Jenny and I decided we would walk from the school to the beach. This is an exceptionally long trek, but it was full of the large, wooden and plaster Fallas in all kinds of delightful shapes--mermaids, fairies, politicians--any shape imaginable. Also, we came upon a crowd of falleras, the women who officiate the festival, in their glittering gowns, the men next to them wearing colorful vests. Whenever I see them, I am mesmerized not just by their gowns, but by the confidence it gives them. In the blur of shapes, images, and flowers, we wound up at a rather different part of the shore than we had expected and never found the gelato we wanted. We went to a cafe and had ice cream there instead, as they were broadcasting a bull fight.

Two days later, our friend Lisa talked us in to going to see a bull fight live. It's one of those things that you just do when you go to Spain, just to say you've done it once, you know? Even though I had spent the morning at the market in Sagunto getting some much-needed sunglasses (how could I not pack something that important?), I was excited to go and see this interesting cultural experience. For lunch we had some smoothies, and I daresay, I had to fight to keep them down.

After the greeting blasts of a pasodoble, the fight began. It celebrated the work of three toreros--bull fighters--each killing two bulls. This took about three hours, and I've got to say, I've never felt more like a foreigner in Spain than I did during those three hours. At first I looked at it through my Californian eyes--poor bull, being killed for no good reason. Then, as visibility got better at night, I started to think more about the torero, of the guts it takes to face down a 576-kg bull. The flash of the sword, the confidence--it's easy to see why the sport has followers. However, the violence of it, the cheering of the crowd to watch the thing die--it was enough to churn anyone's stomach. I took video, intending it for the website, but on further review, I considered it too intense to show here.

We wandered at random through the streets of Valencia after that, looking ways to kill time before the Nit de Foc (Night of Fire). We went to Corte Ingles with the intention of trying on Fallera dresses, but, quite wisely, there were no fitting rooms there. So, we went to Starbucks, and on the way, we passed an absolutely gigantic parade of falleras marching on to give offerings to the Virgin. We watched them for a while, then followed their parade route, amazed at their long mantillas. Eventually, we arrived at the square where they offered their flowers to the Virgen, and that, I'll never forget.

It was full of lowers, of every color and shape. Even the side of the buildings nearby were covered with them. The Virgin stood over sixty feet high, and was robed in flowers, also. The scent was powerful, absolutely amazing and I was awestruck by the sheer quantity of blooms. From there, we went to a bridge over the Turia from which we could see the spectacular fireworks for the Nit de Foc. This was lovely, though we had to sprint to make it onto the last train of the night. It was five in the morning when I finally went to bed, and I did not wake up until noon the next day.

After lunch, as I sat down to write in my journal from my favorite spot on the side of the mountain, I was delighted to find that I had a balcony seat for the Mascleta in Sagunto. The sound must have been powerful, to reach me across so many orange orchards, and the smoke rising over Sagunto made it look like it was being attacked. Certainly a good opening to the last day of Fallas!

A large quantity crammed into a bus to get to Valencia, and it was PACKED. Jenny and I wandered the outskirts of the city for a bit, dodging kids with firecrackers and seeing some of the more out-of-the-way fallas. Then, we moved back into the center of things, where we ran into some of our Portuguese friends. We hung out with them for a while, watching the explosion of one of the smaller fallas, and following a marching band around. This was fun--it had quite a following of happy people, dancing and clapping along. When our group got a little too large to handle, Jenny and I broke off and went down to the cathedral to watch the falla outside of it burn.

Wow, they don't just light those, they blow them up. The noise was incredible, as was the light and the heat. Smoke billowed into the sky and ash fell, the crowd drawing back from the force of the blast. the flames were huge, like none I'd seen in my life. It was all I could do to keep my hands steady on the camera as I recorded it. As we walked away, I saw that it had blown some of the crowd barriers over with its force.

We made our way to the main plaza to watch the closing ceremonies. It was packed with thousands of people all pressed together--a person couldn't fall if they tried. The fireworks they lit off were probably the most impressive I've seen in my life, and in such an excessive quantity that surely no company in the US would be able to afford them. When they torched the enormous falla there, it was amazing. The flames were so tall, the fire so hot that even though I was a sizeable distance away from it, I could still feel its heat. Even though they sprayed water onto it immediately afterward to keep it under control, it continued to burn long after the Valencia musical suite had finished and the crowd had begun to disperse.

It took some time to leave the packed square, and then Jenny and I finished off the evening with some Fallas treats--churros and chocolate. The chocolate was warm and wonderful, and I was grateful that the school had provided us a bus--the train station was packed.

I didn't wake up until one thirty the next day, and since then, I've been gradually steeling myself for school to start tomorrow. Break went by so fast, it hardly felt like we had one. I can hardly believe that Fallas are over, but that is life. I hope you all have a wonderful week, whatever it brings.

Sagunto and Valencia, March 8

Ok, so I know it's been a while since I sent one of these, but in my defense, last week was Dead Week and the week to come is Test Week. Despite all the endless studying, there have been a few things worth mentioning in the last week and a half. Last week, for example, we went to a really good art museum in Valencia as a requirement for History of Art. Although I was already familiar with the style of the Gothic pieces (they had a triptych by Bosch himself) and the Rennaissance works, I had not seen or given much thought to Baroque art before. It's very dark, with an interesting use of light. We skipped ahead of what we were studying, too, to look at some Goya, Velazquez, and Greco paintings, too--I wish I'd had more time there, but it was only a quick visit. My favorite painting was one of Joshua stopping the sun--it uses the light in really cool ways.

The next day was one of our favorite teacher's birthdays, so we gave her a Hello Kitty bag as a class to celebrate it and had cake--it was fun to see her reaction. We like doing lighthearted things to break up the stress of Dead Week--on Tuesday, we had a self-proclaimed Hippie Day, much to the astonishment of the teachers, who rubbed their eyes in wonder to see so many clothes they had thought were extinct. On Wednesday, three girls randomly came dressed as the Powerpuff Girls, for the sheer fun of it. When asked why, they just shrugged and said, "We're bored."

Thursday, though, was a day of almost enforced relaxation. Group A, the beginning level of Spanish here, put on a play directed by my friend Jenny, Mermeleda de Fresa. It was absolutely hilarious, and I loved it. Shortly after, we were required to go to Valencia to start enjoying Fallas, the most important fiesta for Valencia. A lot of people were a bit angry about having to leave campus for so long during Dead Week, myself included, but now I'm so glad they did it because it was an experience I'll never forget.

First, the Mascleta, where they gather in the square at the center of the city and shoot as many fireworks as possible in the middle of the day to see how loud they can make it. Jenny and I stood in the packed square where we could see the Falleras, women who officiate the festival, their gorgeous dresses gleaming from afar. Then, after the blasting of the Valencia anthem, they began the Mascleta. Even the most intensely pyromaniacal friends I've ever had would appreciate this display--I reveled in the smell of gunpowder, in the sheer quantity fo shells they lit. I could feel the sound, not just hear it, as though the rhythm of the explosions and the beating of my heart were one. The ground shook, the plaza filled with the smoke of all these shells, looking like some kind of strangely festive war zone. . . and I LOVED it.

Unfortunately, outside the metro station afterwards, one of my classmates was so overcome with zeal to celebrate Fallas that he threw a firework a bit too close to me. When it exploded, it hurt my ears in a way the noise of the Mascleta hadn't, because I wasn't prepared for it--they were sore for hours afterward. At the very least, he apologized profusely and seemed sincere about it.

All of this was forgotten as we explored the exposition of the Ninots, the carved wooden statues that will be in the larger Fallas that they will put out on the streets later on in the holiday. It truly is amazing, the detail and craftsmanship, not to mention the imagination of the artists. They work so hard to create these--and yet only one won't be burned by the end of the festival. One gets saved by popular vote; I voted for a beautifully detailed one that looked so real, I almost thought it was alive.

After looking through all of these, I was fairly tired, and parked myself in a cafe to wait for the next event of the evening, another play. I amused myself by making a work of art with some crayons I'd bought earlier--it did my study-tired brain good to release some visual creativity. Then, when the play rolled around, I was really able to enjoy it. La Comedia Nueva y el Cafe is a classic Spanish work, and they used nationally-acclaimed actors, but don't let that fool you--it was hilarious. I laughed so hard, I thought I was going to burst. I loved in particular, the opening scene where they made fun of the history of Sagunto--all about people who should not be in the play-writing business.

Today was consumed with a project for Culture class, where we each made and presented meals from various countries. Jenny and I chose India, and made curry and lassi. There were also burritos, real salsa, empanadas, a good salad, fritters, pasta, and tiramisu for dessert. It was wonderfully tasty and filling, though more satisfying is knowing that I have that project, and several others, done now. This finals week, I will actually be able to study, instead of being bogged down by projects at the same time. I know that a lot of my friends are going through that final crunch before Spring Break, too, and I hope all of you do very well, with as little stress as possible.