Believe it or not Las Fallas can be stressful. There are so many things to see and do and so little time for it! Now, I’m definitely not an expert, but I have survived 3 years of Las Fallas. Each year has helped me learn how to truly enjoy the festival. I’ve compiled a little list of my favorite tips and tricks so you wont be overwhelmed by Las Fallas.
Someone is a little stressed out...
See the video of these lights below
1. Stay hydrated! This is the most important thing for any big out door fest and Fallas is no different. Make sure you have a big bottle of water with you at all times because you will be out walking in the sun all day.
2. Eat all the buñuelos! The magical thing about Fallas is all the churros/buñuelos/porras trucks that appear all over the city. Churros con chocolate is a very famous Spanish breakfast of a fried dough stick dipped in hot chocolate sauce. Porras are a fatter version that are softer. Buñuelos de calabaza are a Valencian delicacy. They are fried pumpkin doughnuts and they are delicious! Eat as many as you can!
Buñuelos...yum
Churros....yum
Me after eating all the churros and Buñuelos
3. Don’t try to see everything! During the festival there are concerts, fireworks, light shows, traditional music and dancing, parties, parades and over 700 fallas to see. It is literally impossible to see everything. Instead of getting stressed out about trying to see everything, get a schedule of the events and decide which are most important for you. You will enjoy everything much more if you are not always worrying about missing something.
See the video of the traditional dancing below
4. See it with a newbie! If you have the chance to visit Las Fallas more than once, you should try to bring someone who has never seen it before. I remember my second year my parents came to visit and seeing their reactions to everything was so much fun!
I would like to point out that I had a fever that day....
Even Obama can't escape Las Fallas
5. Have fun! The festival is only a few days, enjoy it!
Why not?
This was not the winning light display, but it was many people's favorite
Traditional music and dancing in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento
I mentioned in my Las Fallas History post that castillos (firework displays) are a huge part of the festivals. Like the mascletàs, each night is designed by a different pyrotechnician. Preparations for each castillo start hours before the 1:00am start time. People begin securing the spots with the best views around the Paseo de Alameda as early as 11:00pm.
The Nit de Foc (Night of Fire in Valencian) sounds like it should be the night where the structures are burned (la crema) but it is actually the eve of San Jose (St. Joseph), the saint of carpenters. This firework show is “bigger and badder” than all the rest. It starts at 1:30am and this year was done by Pirotecnica Caballer. According to the Local Police of Valencia, between 500,000 and 800,000 people turn out for the Nit de Foc. More than 4,000 kg of gunpowder is used. It takes 30 technicians 14 hours to set up everything! We were a little unlucky this year and were downwind, so the smoke covers some of the fireworks in the video below.
I love fireworks and in my opinion, Spain has the best firework shows I have ever seen. So for me, this is one of the most exciting things of Las Fallas. This year I was lucky enough to be able to go to all the castillos! The video is a montage of all the castillos from the year.
