From 15th to 19th of March, Valencia is given over to a carnival of bonfires, fiesta, fireworks and a healthy dose of satire known as Las Fallas. The name of the festival literally means "the fires" in Valencian. The focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of ninots ("puppets/dolls"), which are huge cardboard, wood, paper-machè and plaster statues. The labor intensive ninots, often costing up to 75000 US dollars, are crafted by neighborhood organizations and take almost the entire year to construct.
Besides the burning of the ninots, there is a myriad of other activities during the festival. Every day at 2pm firecrackers rip through the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in a noisy event called la Mascleta (Concert of gunpowder). Every night during Las Fallas, the sky of Valencia is filled with the light and color of impressive firework displays. Another important event is the Ofrenda de Flores (Offering of Flowers), a beautiful ceremony every March 17th and 18th, which honors the Patron Saint of Valencia. The festival ends with La Cremà (The Burning) when all of the sculptures, both those in the large and the children’s categories, go up in flames.
Source: Facebook / Las Fallas de Valencia 2018, Visit Valencia
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