29.) Fallas in Valencia, Spain and the Moon

The city of Science in Valencia, Spain......and Fallas





There was a full moon on the night of March 19,2011, and the nearest it has been to Earth since 18 years ago. It was the night that all "The Fallas" in Valencia were going to be burnt at midnight.
A full moon and fires all over the city. A magical night and good time to make roasted marshmallows over a bonfire
- All over = por todas las partes
- Marshmallows = bombónes de merengue

- Bonfire  = hoguera

Before explaining about The Fallas Festival, here´s a really nice square in Valencia called "The Virgin Square".
In the backround  you can see the entrance to the church on the left and to the right the entrance to the cathedral.
- Square = plaza
- Backround = fondo

"A falla in the City Hall Square"



 "The Fallas" is a very popular festival in Valencia which 1.) takes place from March 15th to March 19th, and which have been celebrated since 1497.
The word Falla comes from the latin word Facula, which means 2. axe or 3. torch.
4. First of all , the most important day of this festivity is on March 19, which is Saint Joseph´s Day and also Father´s Day.
As you know Joseph was Jesus´s father, and he was a carpenter.  It was common centuries ago in Valencia that carpenters always had a lot of wood 5. left over, so they decided to 6. get rid of their wood pieces the last days of winter. 7. Therefore , all the carpenters 8. piled up all the wood in the street or in 9. squares, and people who had old furniture, broken chairs, tree trunks or anything old that would burn also put all of this into one big 10. pile, and celebrate Saint Joseph´s Day and the beginning of Spring by lighting 11. bonfires all around the city in all the different 12. neighborhoods.
Some carpenters, after 13. stacking and 14. nailing the pieces of wood together 15. looking like figures, decided it would be 16. funny and much more interesting to add old clothes to the wooden structures.
Then people thought, why not make more elaborated figures from the wood perhaps from clothing or other material! 17. Nowadays, there are groups of artists, 18. crafstmen, sculptors and painters who are responsible for making these constructions during many months. They are made of 19. wax, wood and styrofoam and often reach a height of more than five 20. stories high. Many of the figures are caricatures of famous people, politicians or 21. events which have taken place during the year 22. making fun  or criticising everybody and everything. Each neighborhood Falla competes with other Fallas to 23. outdo 24. each other in lighting and for the best Falla.
On the night of March 19, one by one every Falla is burned  and 25. turned into 26. huge bonfires.


Vocabulario del texto:
1. Takes place = tiene lugar
2. Axe = hacha
3. Torch = antorcha
4. First of all = Antes que nada
5. Left over = sobrado
6. Get rid of = deshacerse
7. Therefore = por tanto
8. Pile up = amontonar
9. Squares = plazas
10. Pile = monton
11. Bonfires = hogueras
12. Neighborhoods = barrios
13. Stacking = amontonando
14. nailing = clavando con clavos
15. looking like = pareciendo
16. Funny = gracioso
17. Nowadays = hoy en dia
18. Craftsmen = artesanos
19. wax = cera
20. Stories = plantas
21. Events = sucesos
22. Making fun = burlandose
23. Outdo = superar
24. Each other = el uno al otro
25. Turned into = convertida
26. Huge = enorme

Here´s a piece of a Falla waiting to be put together = unirse, juntarse

And here we can see the girls dressed as Falleras wearing their typical dresses and who represent other neighborhood Fallas in Valencia.

Aside from = aparte de the big Falla, the children´s Falla is also as important and at times = aveces much more beautiful and elaborated.

And finally, here is the big Falla. Fallas can reach a height  from two to more than 15 stories high.
- reaches a height = alcanza una altura
- stories = plantas

Each Falla has many funny figures which can represent well-known persons or simply satirical situations.

Here´s a video just before The Falla is going be burnt

And now it´s burning as you can see