Out and about in Valencia, March 19

Fallas 2024 ends today. It is the day of the Cremá (burning). We will have another late night watching the last fireworks and the burning of the Fallas built by the city. We rested during the day but joined a good friend of David and Patrick’s in a rented room over the Plaza de Ayuntamiento. As darkness fell, the city began setting off fireworks. Among the crowd of friends were many expats, English speakers, so the conversation was mostly English.

The Fallas display for the city of Valencia.

As the darkness fell, we could see Fallas displays being set on fire around the city. One of the things they have included in the Fallas displays are fireworks. This helps it burn and they can be seen around the city as they explode. The smoke from the fires is usually black and nasty looking.

The doves are set afire and firworks conceiled in the statues add to the specticul.

There is a movement to try and find fewer polluting materials, but it is fighting almost a thousand years of tradition. One of the most impressive events happens after the fires. By early morning, the remains of the fires are gone. Not just scrapped up with heavy equipment but hauled away and the streets washed.

The remains after a Fallas is burned.

The city provides heavy equipment to clear the debris.

To me it was a sad day. For some of the participants it is also, I have been told. They amount of work that goes into both the design and the building of the displays is enormous. Thousands of euros, hours of work by both the artists and the volunteers, to create these amazingly beautiful displays is gone is minutes. Saving them is really impossible except as photos, but my sadness is real.