2009 Las Fallas in Valencia article published in European Traveler

I’m very excited to see Las Fallas getting web time in European Traveler:  http://www.europeantraveler.net/valencia-fest.php

Fireworks to end all fireworks (Nit de Foc) Valencia, Spain

We’ve all seen fireworks.  July 4th comes to mind first.  Then, there’s festivals, sports events and some backyard shenanigans.  In Valencia during Las Fallas, there are fireworks too.  But, there’s one night in particular, the Nit de Foc (the Night of Fire), where fireworks is taken to an absolute extreme.  They last for a little over 20 minutes, but they are just spectacular.

It’s always great to see some new things in the sky too.  This time it was a type of jellyfish/alien that scooted up in the sky and slowly darted up and down before dissolving.  Then, there was the finale.  I’m going to attempt to attach the last 30 seconds via Flickr, but it’s not an understatement to stay that night turned to day.  It took fireworks to a whole new level.  The fireworks were white but underneath them, where all the launchers were, it was a fiery red – just like a huge combustion of fire balls.  It seemed as if, all at once, one of the pyrotechnicians decided to dump everything he had left just to see what would happen.  Enjoy and let me know if you want to see the crazy jellyfish.

Los Toros – The Bullfight in Valencia, Spain at Las Fallas

Yep, like I was saying before, obstacles seem to just disappear.  A path opens up.  The bullfight on Sunday afternoon, March 15 included a torero (bullfighter) named Jose Tomas.  He is one of those that comes around once in a few decades – a great bullfighter, a showman, strong, valiente, courageous.  Good looking guy, young with dark, curly hair, etc. 

 

I heard someone say ‘he looks death in the eye.’  He’s a crowd-pleaser so naturally a bullring that fits some 15,000 people will sell-out quickly to see that.  Heading to the bullring, though, I was optimistic that someone would be scalping.  I think the last time I scalped at a bullfight, I was up in Barcelona and the guy smelled like smoke and alcohol and was missing a few teeth.  That guy and others like him were nowhere to be found.  You could just feel a different vibe there.  Everyone who was surrounding the bullring (and it was elbow to elbow) had tickets and those that didn’t have tickets just wanted to stand around to see the bullfighters enter.

 

I walked away from the sold-out box office windows up and down the street.  Nada.  I then went back to the box office area which is also where the bullfighters enter.  Out of nowhere, I heard ‘tengo entradas.’  I turned and looked, it was an older guy, but a normal guy, he had all his teeth.  I bought a ticket in the 8^throw sombra (in the shade) for 75 euros.  The impossible happened again!  An ostacle was overcome.  I seriously don’t think any other tickets exchanged hands that afternoon.

 

Turns out the man selling the ticket (Julio) and his group of other cigar-smoking buddies have season tickets.  One of them couldn’t make it so Julio sold his ticket.  We got friendly and the next thing you know Julio pulls out a bottle of Gin and little bottles of tonic (see pic below).  There we are drinking G&Ts.  An hour later, empanadas are being passed around and then some time later ensaimada – a sweet bread sprinkled with thick sugar and some nuts.

 

The bullfight.  You may see the bullfighter as an artist dancing with the bull or you may see it as the torture and death of 6 bulls in the afternoon, either way, it’s an experience.  When done properly, you’re able to get beyond the end result.  When done poorly, on the other hand, it’s the bad news bears entangled in a bloody painful mess.  Fortunately, 4 of the 6 corridas (bullfights) were the best I’ve ever seen!  Jose Tomas and Sebastian Castella gave the crowd an incredible and surely unforgettable performance.  They got close to the bulls, leaning into them and at different points even touching their horns.  They showed complete mastery and control of the bulls in addition to a bravery that can only come from mad skills and the void of the fear nerve.

 

I’ve got to talk about the crowd – a grouping of people who are actively engaged with what’s going on down on the sand.  When you’re not hearing sunflower seeds being cracked between their teeth, you may hear critical gritos (shouts) that you might’ve heard at the old Yankee Stadium.  If the president of the bullring isn’t getting on with the different stages of the bullfight or if the bull isn’t a strong one (or for countless other reasons), you’ll hear whistling.  If that doesn’t do it, they step it up by making more noise, adding onto that some higher-pitched whistling and the waving of white handkerchiefs.  It feels like mob rule.

 

Bullfighting dates back many centuries and you could easily argue that people who choose to attend it are getting in touch with the raw business of life and death.  It’s not quite the thumbs up/thumbs down we saw in the movie Gladiator, but it has a modern day closeness.  At the end of the fight, if the torero does extremely well, they cut off one of the bull’s ears.  The crowd may say ‘ot-ra, ot-ra’ (another) to get the president of the bullring to have the second ear pulled.   Yesterday, at the end of one fight, the crowd wasn’t pleased that a second ear wasn’t given and so directed some mass anger in the form or noise and whistles at the president.  I think I heard burro chants – calling him a jackass.  Don’t quote me on that one.  It didn’t sound pretty though.

 

Before I sign off for the night, some other wild things at the bullfight.  The Spanish sometimes drink wine out of a bota bag – a leather wine pouch.  You hold the bag on a diagonal at arm’s length and squeeze the wine to form a purple stream into your mouth.  It’s a convenient way to store and drink wine.  It’s also very social.  Bota bags gets tossed over 5 or 6 people’s heads to someone wanting it.  After the fight, the bullfighter takes a walk around the outer perimeter of the ring.  Out of appreciation, items are thrown at him or his feet – the bota bag, flowers, shawls, etc.  Jose Tomas (the young superstar) stopped to drink from the bota (see pic below).  Oh, if they get an ear, they parade that around too.  Jose actually earned one and tossed it up into the crowd.  (What do you do with that ear if you should be so lucky as to catch it??)

 

If you’re interested in bullfighting, I’d like to recommend Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway.  It’s a great read – totally verbose Hemingway style but with a serious education for bullfighting.  He spent a lot of time in Spain.  It’s been awhile since I read it so I’m now inspired to look back at my notes.  I distinctly remember Chapter 7 being an incredible read on what to look for and appreciate in the bullfight.

 

Next up for tomorrow’s blog, some talk about fireworks explosions.  For now, I’ll leave you with the fact that for about 8 minutes at 2pm every day during Las Fallas, they explode 130 kilos or about 285 lbs of gunpowder.  Keep in mind that gunpowder isn’t really a heavy substance.  My goal tomorrow is to get a sense for what kind of explosive damage that amount of gunpowder can cause. 

Obstacles Disappear In Valencia (Mascleta)

I need to tell you that Valencia is the kind of place where obstacles sort of just disappear.  If you pack in your suitcase a little bit of ‘some how it’s just going to work out’, it actually does in this city.

What do I mean?  Well, I was headed into town from the airport.  Seems simple enough, right?  Except that the hotel is located a block or two from the main square where the daily Fallas mascleta occurs.  The mascleta is a raucous fireworks display.  That doesn’t do it justice and since I’ve only seen videos posted online and haven’t experienced it first hand yet (stay tuned), I’ll  just say 2 things – 1) when the local TV station covers it live, they have a decibal meter on the screen for entertainment purposes and 2) I read in a Fallas pamphlet that the folks here are keenly aware of how inexpensive gunpower is.  Ok, so precisely as the taxi was nearing the streets toward the hotel, the mascleta was ending.  Streets all over town are already closed off and when mascleta ends, you guessed it, those streets are filled with throngs of people.  So, naturally, there are Policia at checkpoints to stop cars from coming in.

My brave taxista Vicente put up a good argument to get through, but all he kept getting was ‘no se puede’ – no one gets through.  It seemed hopeless.  But, Vicente kept talking and somehow convinced them to let him drive closer to the hotel to the next Police checkpoint (most other people would’ve turned around at that point – lost cause, right?!  You’d think it was all a waste of time, but no, at that checkpoint, we were waved on without even needing to plead.

Have you ever seen a fish since upstream?  Here’s a few pics of the taxi in front of the hotel at the end of mascleta.  My next blog will about another obstacle disappearing – getting into a bullfight that sold out 3 hours after tickets went on sale.  And, it turned out to be the best bullfight I’ve ever seen!

Next Stop: Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain

Well hello to everyone!!

I’m leaving for Valencia, Spain today to experience and write about Las Fallas.  It’s been 16 years since I was there!  I first have to thank my buddy Seijen for advising me to start up this blog.  For the next week, I’ll be recounting the colorful day-to-day activities along with pics and maybe some video.  There will be parades, competitions, explosions, fireworks, music, bullfights and more.  I’m hoping to make you feel like you’re there with me!

But, first, what is Las Fallas?  Fallas means fires.  We’ll get into more history later, but for now, the festival goes from March 1-19 culminating in over 300 bonfires throughout the city.  Neighborhood organizations spend all year building elaborate wooden statues or ninots (take a look at the pic below).  The statues are placed in the neighborhood squares throughout the city.  On the last night of Las Fallas, all but the winning ninot is burned.  It’s crazy!  Firemen are hosing down the apartment buildings surrounding the squares.

With over 700 streets closed, it’s no surprise that it’s been called Europe’s wildest street party.

What about Valencia?  Just to situate you, did you know that Valencia is the 3rd largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona?  It’s on the Mediterranean coast about halfway down.  Kimberly and I were there in 2005 and it’s incredible to hear about all the changes just since that time.  Can’t wait to tell you about them all once I get there!

For now, I’m off to O’Hare.