Fallas de Valencia 2017

We leave Barcelona on the morning of March 18, to the small and beautiful village of Peñiscola, a typical Mediterranean village, with white houses and a friendly atmosphere. The village have his own peculiarity because in the highest part of the city is the castle of Pope Luna.

The castle where Benedict lived from 1417 until his death in 1423 was restored, improved and new walls were added in 1960 when Anthony Mann's film El Cid was partially filmed there. The town and castle are now a popular tourist attraction.

After strolling through all the small streets and knowing all the magic of the town, we continue by bus to the main objective, the city of the flames that burn at night, Valencia.

We begin to know Valencia, by one of the most important sites of the city, the complex of the City of Arts and Sciences of the Valencian projected by the architect Santiago Calatrava.

We walked from street to street, in search of the best “falla”. We find small and large “fallas”, simple and complex, of all possible topics. 

San José (Saint Joseph), the patron saint of carpenters, is the official focus for the festival. It all started back in the Middle Ages when carpenters used to hang up planks of wood called ‘parots’ in the winter to support their candles when they were working. At the onset of spring these pieces of wood would be burned as a way of celebrating the end of dark, winter working days. After a while they began to put clothing on the ‘parot’ and then started to try to make it identifiable with a well-known local personality. These became the forerunners of the contemporary ‘ninots’, the enormous cardboard, wooden, polyurethane, Styrofoam, cork, plaster and papier-maché figures of today. The authorities later decided to link the burning of the ‘parots’ with Saint Joseph’s Day to try to stop it getting out of control!.

San José (Saint Joseph), the patron saint of carpenters, is the official focus for the festival. It all started back in the Middle Ages when carpenters used to hang up planks of wood called ‘parots’ in the winter to support their candles when they were working. At the onset of spring these pieces of wood would be burned as a way of celebrating the end of dark, winter working days. After a while they began to put clothing on the ‘parot’ and then started to try to make it identifiable with a well-known local personality. These became the forerunners of the contemporary ‘ninots’, the enormous cardboard, wooden, polyurethane, Styrofoam, cork, plaster and papier-maché figures of today. The authorities later decided to link the burning of the ‘parots’ with Saint Joseph’s Day to try to stop it getting out of control!

These Faults were evolving and taking on a critical and ironic sense, showing above all in the fallero monuments, scenes that reproduced censurable social facts and social criticism but always with sense of humor. Throughout the day, we went walking, eating, drinking, chatting and discovering Valencia, but when night came, the atmosphere of the city changed and suddenly, began the most awaited moment by all: THE NIGHT OF FIREWORKS. That is the moment when they do a big show of fireworks for 20 minutes. After this amazing fire scene, we went to the bus and come back to Barcelona to get a rest and have energy to start the week again !

Thanks for everybody who joined us !!!!

GAUDÍ ROUTE

Sunday 04 of March, we had the planto provide a "Gaudian" experience for our exchange students.

We started at 9h30min at Plaza Catalunya, where we had an little explanation about the Cerdá Plan and about the “La Manzana de la Discordia".

The Manzana de la Discordia or Block of Discord is the name given to a section Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district of Barcelona.

The Block of Discord is so named because in less than 100 metres we find a major building by each of Barcelona's trio of star Modernist architects, Casa Lleó Morera by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Casa Amatller by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí. They are not only in very contrasting styles but are also considered signature pieces by each of the architects, so the name also hints at the rivalry between the three men.

The Block of Discord is located on Passeig de Gràcia between Carrer Consell de Cent and Carrer Aragó and why did the citizens of Barcelona baptize that block with the name of “Manzana de la Discordia"?  What they intended was to make a resemblance with an episode of Greek mythology that tells us the wedding of Tethys and Peleus, to which were invited all the gods except Eris, the goddess of Discord. Very angry, she presented herself at the banquet, leaving on the table of presents an apple of gold with the inscription Kallisti (for the most beautiful). The apple was claimed by Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. To avoid arguments, Zeus proposed that a trial should be made by Paris, Prince of Troy, to decide who the golden apple would be. The three goddesses tried to convince him, and finally Paris gave the apple of gold to Aphrodite, who had promised her the love of the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, wife of the King of Sparta.

There are a number of similarities between this episode in Greek mythology and the existing rivalry among modernist architects and, in fact, the rivalry among their patrons to have the fairest building on the block on Passeig de Gràcia. As the word manzana can mean both city block and apple in Spanish, further parallels can be drawn between the Greek myth and Barcelona’s architecture.

After walking all the Passeig de Gracia, we walk through the Eixample until arriving in the most important work of Antonio Gaudí, the Sagrada Familia. Contrary to what many people believe, the construction of the Holy Family began before Gaudí was actually involved in the process. In 1883, Gaudí took over the project and transformed it according to its architectural style, combining Gothic with forms of Art Nouveau. So the true church building as it is today began with the intervention of Gaudí in 1883 and is still under construction with the plan to finish in 2026.

After the magical experience through the enchanted forest of Gaudí we went to taste another atmosphere of him, the Parc Güell.

The history of the park is that the rich man, Eusebi Güell commissioned to Gaudí the project of making an urbanisation for well-to-do families in a large estate that had acquired in the area popularly known as Montaña Pelada. Its situation was unbeatable, in a healthy environment and with a splendid view of the sea and the plain of Barcelona. In the urbanisation, some 60 parcels with a triangular shape were foreseen, with a complex network of roads, viaducts and stairs that saved the topography of the land. The construction conditions were very restrictive, since only one-sixth of the plot could be built, and the height and location of the houses could not obstruct the view of the sea or deprive the neighbours of the sun.

Gaudí respected the vegetation existing in the old estate, like the carob trees and the olive trees. As for the introduction of new species, it chose Mediterranean plants with low water demand. 

Was a beautiful and cultural sunny Sunday, that we learned about that Barcelona architectures and had a great time together !!!  

Thanks for all !