Valencia's Fallas Fiesta

Th most spectacular of Spanish’s thousands of festivals must be Valencia’s Fallas Fiest. A two-day event celebrating the end of winter. The Fallas Fiesta and street party start at noon on St. Joseph’s Day 19th March with a deafening explosion of fireworks. Then there are contests for the best paella – a traditional Valencian rice dish. People gather in the streets to admire the costumes of the men dressed up as the moors who occupied the city until the 13th century. In the months before the fiesta craftsmen create around 370(!) papier mache sculptures the fallas which are detailed caricatures of local people. At midnight when the fallas are burnt the burst of flames and fireworks symbolically forces out the winter.