Fallas pt. 3

Danny and I went to the bullfight in the morning and got out just in time to see the final Mascleta. It was surprisingly similar to the previous mascletas… Since the celebrations were all drawing to a close, there were very few events going on before the big burning later that night. On our way to lunch, we passed the completed virgin, and finally found a place serving paella. It was quite good, and definitely worth the trouble. It was also, I believe, the first time I have ever eaten rabbit. Following lunch was an amazing dessert of Horchata (de chufa: a tiny tuber) and Fartons (croissant shaped glazed donuts). This trip has turned out to be quite the gastronomical adventure.

After many, many bouquets, the virgin's robe was completed

We grabbed our bags and thanked our hosts, and then headed to meet a CouchSurfer named Juan Carlos. He was the only one we contacted that had offered us a place, and was already sharing his two-room student housing with two other couchsurfers from Germany. He was a really cool guy: a mexican architecture student doing a 5-year degree in 4 countries. In his short time in Valencia, he had hosted some 45 CSers (40 of which were Polish!)

Can you tell which one is Juan Carlos?

We headed out around 10 to see the local childrens’ falla burn. Before the fire starts, all the falleras (the community’s representatives) get to choose some part of the statue that they want to keep as a souvenir. Then the entire structure is wrapped with fireworks and firecrackers and a long fuse is lit. In a quick series of flashes, booms, and pops, a cloud of black smoke encompasses the sculpture and the flames lick up the sides of the smiling cartoonish faces. Limbs start to fall off and bodies lose their integrity and angle out of the blaze. Some children start to cry, and others are distracted by candy being passed around. The whole thing was a puddle of smoldering goo within about 5 minutes, and we headed to the metro to go see the largest falla burn.