Las Fallas is one of the most popular festivals in Spain. Thousands of people gathered on 19 March 2018 at Valencia's city square to celebrate on the final day of the festival.
The unique Las Fallas festival in March celebrates St. Joseph, the patron saint of the city, with a huge feast. The five-day festival is undoubtedly one of the most noisy and smoke-filled festivals in the world. Firecrackers are set off during the celebrations and huge puppets and floats are set alight on the last day of the festival, called La Crema or 'the burning'.
Saint Joseph is the patron saint of the carpenters and for the Las Fallas festival, hundreds of huge puppets or creatures are constructed out of wood, papermache or cardboard. These puppets, called 'ninots' depict funny creatures and current events. The Valencians vote for the most popular creation which is spared by the burning on the last day of the festival and exhibited in a unique museum.
“During the fiestas, you can see floats, watch bands and snack on a buñuelo, a Spanish fried dough ball"
About three million visitors admired the massive structures and puppets this year. Valencia with 1.5 million inhabitants is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. It is home to the futuristic city of Arts and Sciences.
Read more about Spain in our guide and see more great pictures of the festival in El País (English edition)
source: El País
image: Mònica Torres/El País