Fri, 10 February 2012
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Valencia's biggest fiesta is all about making a noise
are set off every day around 2pm. The biggest mascletá is held in front of city hall, where hundreds of kilogrammes of firecrackers go off for well over five minutes, gradually building up into a grand finale that makes the ground shake and leaves one feeling dizzy and confused. While this may not sound particularly appealing, Valencians seem to love it and will discuss the finer points of each particular mascletá.
But the Fallas are not just about noise. Another major draw is the giant wood and papier-mâché sculptures that are built throughout the year and generally depict a satirical scene making reference to politics or other issues that have made the news recently. These can be several stories tall and take a crew of experienced craftsmen to build at a cost that runs into the thousands of euros. There are well over 500 such floats in the city alone, all competing to be the one that will be spared and kept in a local museum. The rest will all be burnt down at midnight on 19 March during the festival's climactic and cathartic La Cremá (The Burning). Local firefighters have had to develop special systems to prevent nearby buildings from also catching fire and setting the entire city ablaze.
associations, known as casals fallers, cook traditional paellas out in the street, where other regional specialties such as churros and porras (deep-fried batter sprinkled with sugar) may be sampled. Many Valencians also deck themselves out in elaborate traditional costumes.
Expatica's Getting Started section will provide practical information on how you can open a bank account, exchange your driving licence, improve your Spanish, and more.
Here's a guide to an extensive list of groups and clubs in Madrid for expats, from sports groups to social and family gatherings.
A brief introduction to our Tax section for Spain, from help with inheritance tax to accounting advice.
Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in Spain, from what to ask the experts to opening a Spanish bank account.
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