During the month of March, exactly from the 14th to the 19th, many towns in the Valencian Community fill with colourful and fantastic monuments, gunpowder, music and fire to celebrate the Fallas.
These festivities in honour of Saint Joseph, originated in the city of Valencia and declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2016, are characterized by the installation of large sculptural monuments with fantasy and caricature-like figures throughout the city.
One of the versions about its origin says that with the arrival of spring and the good weather, carpenters used to clean their workshops by taking out the unwanted pieces of wood and burning them the day before the festivity of their patron saint, St. Joseph.
Eventually, people started taking out what they no longer wanted until today, in which both large and children’s monuments are mounted, standing out for their impossible structures, their “ninots” (the different figures) and their “críticas” (satirical texts related to current national and international political, social and cultural events).
The Fallas have three main events: the Crida (the announcement of the festivities), the Plantà (when the fallas are mounted) and the Cremà (when they are burned on the night of 19th March); without forgetting the multiple “mascletás” (pyrotechnics displays), fireworks displays, parades of falleros (women and men dressed in traditional Valencian costumes) accompanied by music bands and firecrackers, many firecrackers.
If you want to discover and experience these wonderful festivities up close, it is very easy. Come and spend a few days on the Costa Blanca with Villas Holidays and spend the day in Dénia, Calpe or Pego, the towns in the area that celebrate them.
