VALENCIA IN FALLAS! DISCOVER AS A STUDENT OF SPANISH WHAT LAS FALLAS OF VALENCIA ARE

Concurso de paellas de la escuela de español Costa de Valencia

Valencia in Fallas! Discover as a student of Spanish what las Fallas of Valencia are

Sing up in order to live a wonderful Spanish course and enjoy the festivity, fireworks and traditions.

Each year Valencia receives students of Spanish from all over the world, since they can learn Spanish in one of the languages school here in Valencia taking joy in the sun, the sea and the incredible city itself. Practicing Spanish does not only mean learning grammar and vocabulary, but also fully integrating into the sociocultural reality of Spanish people daily life.

Each year, from the beginning of March to the 19th, Valencia offers you the perfect chance to combine Spanish learning with one of the most significant Valencian traditions. During this period, Valencian people celebrate one of the most important festivities in Spain: LAS FALLAS!

Spanish schools in Valencia organize a broad program of activities around this famous festivity of lights, fire and flowers. Thus, the following Friday, 15th March, Costa de Valencia, Spanish school is organizing its traditional competition: paellas in the street. Five Valencian paellas with chicken and rabbit -typical in the city- will be cooked. Apart from the Valencian paella, there are loads of variants: each village, even each family has its own recipe.

After a string of fireworks in honour of the best paella, the students will go to watch one of the amazing fireworks displays that take place during these days. The Nit del Foc, the last night of the festivity, is when the biggest and most spectacular firework display is launched, illuminating the whole sky of Valencia with every single shade of colours, which charms more than one millions of visitants.

The name of this festivity comes from the almost 700 Fallas, huge paper-machè, polystyrene and wood statues, distributed all around the city. These statues are planned during the whole year until they are exposed on the streets on the 15th March. Las Fallas represent each neighbourhood and present current problems using an ironic way.

The Ofrenda de flores in Plaza de la Virgen is one of the biggest events as well. It consists of an exhibition of regional costumes around the city until they reach the statue of the Virgen de los Desamparados -14 metres high and decorated with thousands of flowers that the falleras and falleros of each commission hand in.

One should not forget nightlife either. Open-air dances can be found in each corner of the city during this festivity in order to dance until early morning and, of course, put into practice the knowledge of Spanish learned in class.

The 19th March, the last day of las Fallas, the students will attend to another typical event during this period. At 2 a.m, they will visit the major Mascletà in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, in the city centre of Valencia. The Mascletà and the firework displays are not the same: it does not want to impress by means of colours and shapes, but with volume and rhythm. From the 1st March, thousands of people, including students of Spanish, will witness this event each day.

Las Fallas will reach its climax during the night between the 19th and the 20th during the Cremà, when the burning of the statues in honour of San José will take place. After such a busy and exciting week, learning Spanish becomes the principal task once more. Let’s come back to class again!