CC MEMO -- Las Fallas

The CC met in Valencia last week knowing it was "Las Fallas" week. We had been warned away by some, but encouraged by others to come and experience the city's annual festival that honors (among other saints) St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.

Las Fallas is easy to describe but hard to imagine -- perhaps Mardi Gras, Guy Fawkes, 4th of July, Oktoberfest and St Patrick's Day all rolled into one?

CC delegates who left Valencia before the climax yesterday, and team members not yet based there, will appreciate the following report, courtesy of today's ValenciaLife.net newsletter (www.valencialife.net)....


THE LAST ONE



Over ten thousand people yesterday crowded into the Town Hall Square in Valencia to witness that last Mascleta of the current Falla season, even crowding into the streets adjacent to the square to catch a glimpse and feel the effect of the explosions. Firework master Vicente Caballer received the order to start from the Falla Queen Gueguel Massmanian, who with the Junior Queen Cristina Sanchez, Francisco Camps the President of the Valencian Community and Valencia Mayoress Rita Barbera watched the spectacle from the balcony of the Town Hall. As was expected, Mr. Caballer did not disappoint, with fireworks being let off from around the entire square as a starter followed by the air ‘effects’ and gradually the volume of explosions rose until the final ‘earthquake’ that was delivered in two phases along with more air bombardments, effectively heralding the end of the display that used 120 kilos of explosives. More festivities took place in Valencia after the Mascleta, and these included the spectacular Carrafoc procession around Valencia, when fireworks were let off much to the delight of those lining the parade route:




The procession was a herald of the ‘Nit de la Crema’ when all the 700 Falla monuments set up in the squares and streets of the City were burned to the ground:



This year, some 410 firemen, many borrowed from other locations throughout the Valencian Community, oversaw the burning of the monuments, and particular attention was given to the Na Jordana Falla as its height – 31.18 metres placing it in the Guinness Book of Records – made it extremely close to the bell tower of one of Valencia’s most famous churches. As Mrs. Barbera had ratified a City Decree to enable the celebrations to continue until 4 am, many revelers had to make their way homewards carefully as they picked their way through the 3,000 tons of ashes that were being swept up by the City Cleaning Services, in order that all the roads be opened in the City today.



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The 700+ sculpture-like "Fallas" are made of paper mache, wax and wood, and are whimsical parodies of life in Valencia, politicians, the rich and famous, etc. So it was not surpising that a number of Fallas this year took on the America's Cup and the Mayor. This one was just around the corner from the Holiday Inn where the CC met....



That's a sultanic-looking Mayoress, Rita Barbera, sitting on her magic Cup, and another of her blowing into the sails of an Alinghi-looking yacht off to the right.

"La Mascletá" is five minutes of intense pyrotechnics in the Town Hall Square at 14:00 each day of Las Fallas week. The Mayor, whose popularity in this town of nearly 1,000,000 rivals the Pope's, invites 250 VIPs to join her on the Town Hall balcony. The CC was invited on Wednesday, thanks to Luis Saenz of Luna Rossa. Luis, a three-Cup veteran and Madrid native, was an architect of the Valencia venue bid.


The Mayoress (center, white suit) on the Town Hall balcony on Wednesday.


Melinda Erkelens (BMW ORACLE), Dawn Riley
(K-Challenge) and John Cutler (Desafio Espana)
with the Mayor and other VIPs.


Luis Saenz (Luna Rossa).

By the end of the week, the noise is not only deafening, but nearly around the clock. For the CC and sleep-deprived teams who were in VLC last week, the question will be whether to take it all in again in 06 and 07, or head for the hills and a peaceful, quiet break.