Las Fallas was a blast! Literally as well! It is NOT for the faint-hearted. Various firecrackers are going off continuously all over the city. Big ones, little ones, thrown in a dumpster, put in a coke can, on the street, on the sidewalk, you name it. If you can't deal with sudden loud noises, this is NOT the place for you. Fortunately, we could and Gene even got into the action by buying and setting off a few rockets and firecrackers of his own.
The Mascleta which went on every day at 2pm in the main square is beyond loud. You feel in in your chest about a block away. We heard it one day in our hotel room by the City of Arts & Sciences and it was still amazingly loud. And it goes on for about 15 minutes nonstop. We tried to get to the square to actually see it one day, but the crowd was so large, we could only stand in place about 1/4 block away and hear & feel it.
There are parades constantly, it seems, and the costumes are beautiful.
The Fallas or Ninots are a wonder. 20 feet tall and very artistic. I would imagine if you are a local, they are even more appealing since you can see that some of the characters are based on local celebrities and politicians.
The fireworks on the next to last night were unbelieveable. I don't remember seeing such a display go on for so long ever.
And finally, the final night was wonderful. There was about a 5-minute mascleta near the fallas we chose to watch. It was so loud, but so much fun to listen to and watch. And finally when the they set fire to the ninot, it was amazing how fast it went up in flames (and how fast everyone who tried to get a front row view started backing up to get away from the intense heat).
It was exactly as crazy as we expected and that's a good thing!
Carol
No comments:
Post a Comment