Fallas 2019 are here… Starting with La Crida!
Have you ever visited Valencia in March?
If so, you may have noticed the smell of gunpowder, the live music being played by many bands all at the same time or the brilliant fireworks going off all around you? If the answer is yes, there’s no doubt you’ve been to the Fallas Festival. But if the answer is no, you should definitely come and experience it for yourself!
When do the festivities begin?
Contrary to what people think, Fallas are not only during the month of March. There are lots of events throughout the year in the build up to the festival, and perhaps the most anticipated event, especially by the locals, La Crida. Every year on the last Sunday in February, Valencia gets ready for what’s coming in the next three weeks.
On February 24th at first sunlight we will see the many falleros and falleras (men and women of the festival) gather in their neighborhoods and begin the day surrounded by the smell of gunpowder and smoke in the Despertà. This takes place at 7:00 am and marks the beginning of the route to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where the falleros and falleras walk to the rhythm of the music and the explosions of firecrackers.
The day continues with many bands walking through the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, and at 2:00 pm the first Mascletà of Fallas 2019 will be set off.
What is La Crida?
But that’s just the beginning, because the most important event of the day starts at 8:00 pm. By this time, thousands of falleras, falleros and people in general, meet at the Torres de Serrano, where the mayor of the city and the Falleras Mayores, will announce the official start of Fallas Festival.
This is called La Crida, which means “The Call” in English, and its purpose is to invite everyone to visit the city during the most important celebration of the year in Valencia. During the act there will be a spectacle of music and images projected on the towers, which finishes with fireworks in the Antiguo Cauce del Río Túria (you should remember this from the last blog)!