La Mascleta

Las Fallas is a huge festival in Valencia every March.  I will go into detail in another blog.  It kicks off with a ceremony and big firework display on the 1st March and then every day they hold the Mascleta in Ajuntament Plaza at 2pm until the official Fallas week.

We believe it is to re enact the fight between the Moors and Christians, but we really think it is just an opportunity to make as much noise as they possibly can.  They love it.  It starts slowly and goes on for about 7 minutes building up to an almighty crescendo, which comes up through your body and out the top of your head.  Quite a spectacle.  We went to about eight of them.  At the beginning you could walk into the square and get quite close.  There is little to see, just the feeling of the noise.  By the end it was two streets away, packed with people.  The atmosphere was amazing.

And the week of Fallas, as many people in front of us as behind.

Here's just a taste of it.

We understand that the Mascleta is sponsored everyday by a different company and starts small and by the time Fallas week starts properly the big guns come in.... really.  It seems to get louder as the weeks progress.  We called it an artillery barrage, not a fireworks.  The sky becomes full of smoke and the buildings disappear.  Brilliant.