Editing Fallas (section)

==Events during ''Fallas''==
[[Image:Fallers marching band.jpg|thumb|''La despertà'': a band of wind instruments marches through a small street in the early morning.]]
[[Image:mascleta 2004a.jpg|thumb|The crowd gathers in the main square, Valencia, Spain]]

The five days and nights of ''Fallas'' might be described as a continuous street party. There are a multitude of processions: historical, religious, and comedic. Crowds in the restaurants spill out into the streets. Explosions can be heard all day long and sporadically through the night. Everyone from small children to elderly people can be seen throwing fireworks and noisemakers in the streets, which are littered with pyrotechnical debris. The timing of the events is fixed, and they fall on the same date every year, though there has been discussion about holding some events on the weekend preceding the Fallas, to take greater advantage of the tourist potential of the festival<ref>[http://www.abc.es/20120320/sociedad/rc-fiesta-unas-fallas-perfectas-201203200131.html Fin de fiesta de unas Fallas perfectas], ABC.es, 20 March 2012</ref> or changing the end date in years where it is due to occur in midweek.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130127174803/http://www.levante-emv.com/fallas/2012/03/20/hosteleros-quieren-fallas/891058.html Los hosteleros quieren ´más´ Fallas], ''Levante'', 20 March 2012</ref>

But outside the Fallas proper, the Fallas season within the Valencian Community begins on the final Sunday of February and lasts till 19 March, St. Joseph's Day.

=== Opening Night (La Crida) === 
Held on the last Sunday of February, ''La Crida'' is held in the evening at the [[Torres de Serranos]], the historical gateway to the city. Preceded by a fireworks display and a ''son et lumierie'' show, the city's mayor presents the keys to the Fallera Major and her princess, and after their addresses formally declaring the commencement of the festivities, the [[Himne de l'Exposició]] and [[Marcha Real]] are played by the city band to mark the formal start of the festivity season.

===La Despertà===
Each day of Falles begins at 8:00 am with ''La Despertà'' ("the wake-up call").<ref name="García2014">{{cite book|author=Encarnación Galindo García|title=Las fallas de Valencia: Mucho más que un sueño|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqyTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|date=30 July 2014|publisher=Edinumen|isbn=978-84-9848-049-8|page=44}}</ref> Brass bands appear from the casals and begin to march down every street playing lively music. Close behind them are the ''fallers'', throwing large firecrackers in the street as they go.[[File:Falleras.jpg|thumb|Falleras during the "replegà"]]

[[File:Parade_in_historical_Valencian_costumes.jpg|thumb|Falleres in their costumes march with the band]]

===La Mascletà===
{{Main|Mascletà}}
The ''Mascletà'', an explosive barrage of coordinated firecracker and [[fireworks]] displays, takes place at 2:00&nbsp;pm from March 1 to 19 (including the festival proper);<ref name="García2014" /> the main event is the municipal Mascletà in the ''Plaça de l'Ajuntament'' where the pyrotechnicians compete for the honour of providing the final Mascletà of the ''festes'' (on 19 March). At 2:00 pm the clock chimes and the Fallera Major, dressed in her ''fallera'' finery, will call from the balcony of [[City Hall]], ''Senyor/a pirotècnic/a, pot començar la mascletà!'' ("Mr./Ms. Pyrotechnic, the Mascletà may commence!"), and the Mascletà begins.

The Mascletà is almost unique to the [[Valencian Community]], and very popular with the Valencian people. Smaller neighbourhoods often hold their own mascletà for saints' days, weddings and other celebrations.

A nighttime variant runs in the evening hours by the same pyrotechnicans that were present in the afternoon. In some days, women pyrotechnicians are selected to compete. The event is televised regionwide.

===La Plantà===
{{Main|Plantà}}
On the day of the 15th, all of the ''falles infantils'' are to be finished being constructed, and later that night all of the ''falles majors'' (big Falles) are to be completed.<ref name="García2014" /> If not, they face disqualification.

Once the City ''Falles Major'' is finally done a fireworks display -''Amb de las Falles'' - is held at City Hall Square to pay tribute to everyone who made these works possible.

===L'Ofrena de flors===
In this event, the flower offering, each of the casals fallers takes an offering of flowers to the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Virgin Mary]], titled as ''[[Virgen de los Desamparados|Our Lady of the Forsaken]]'',<ref name="García2014" /> principal patroness of the city of Valencia and the wider Community. This occurs all day during 17–18 March, the first day attended by the Fallera Major and her court. A statue of the Virgin Mary and its large pedestal are then covered with all the flowers.

===Els Castells and La Nit del Foc===
On the nights of the 15, 16, 17, and 18th there are firework displays in the old riverbed in València. Each night is progressively grander and the last is called ''La Nit del Foc'' (the Night of Fire).<ref name="García2014" />

===Cavalcada del Foc===
On the final evening of Falles, at 7:00 pm on 19 March, a parade known in Valencian as the ''Cavalcada del Foc'' (the Fire Parade) takes place along Colón street and Porta de la Mar square. This spectacular celebration of fire, the symbol of the fiesta's spirit, is the ''grand finale'' of Fallas and a colourful, noisy event featuring exhibitions of the varied rites and displays from around the world which use fire; it incorporates floats, giant mechanisms, people in costumes, rockets, gunpowder, street performances and music.

===La Cremà===
{{Main|Cremà}}
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Mascleta 2004b.JPG|Mascletà in [[Valencia]]
La_fallera_y_su_cremá.jpg|A fallera, during the burning of her falla
Bomber faller.jpg|La cremà, 2002
</gallery>
On the final night of Falles, around midnight on 19 March,<ref name="CarvajalHorwood2004">{{cite book|author1=Carol Styles Carvajal|author2=Jane Horwood|author3=Nicholas Rollin|title=Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary: Spanish-English/English-Spanish|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780198609773|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-860977-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780198609773/page/293 293]}}</ref> these ''falles'' are burnt as huge bonfires. This is known as ''La Cremà'' (the Burning), the climax of the whole event,<ref name="Ariño1999">{{cite book|author=Antonio Ariño|title=El Teatre en la festa valenciana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uo5dAAAAMAAJ&q=%22La%20Crem%C3%A0%22%20%22falles%22d|year=1999|publisher=Generalitat Valenciana|isbn=978-84-482-2333-5|page=328}}</ref> and the reason why the constructions are called ''falles'' ("torches").  Traditionally, the falla in the ''Plaça de l'Ajuntament'' is burned last.

All ''commissions'' have a ''falla infantil'' (children's ''falles'', smaller and without satirical themes), which are held a few meters away from the main one. This is burnt first, at 10:00 pm. The main neighbourhood ''falles'' are burnt closer to midnight; the burning of the ''falles'' in the city centre often starts later. For example, in 2005, the fire brigade delayed the burning of the Egyptian funeral ''falla'' in ''Carrer del Convent de Jerusalem'' until 1:30 am, when they were sure all safety concerns were addressed.

Each ''falla'' is laden with fireworks which are lit first. The construction itself is lit either after or during the explosion of these fireworks. ''Falles'' burn quite quickly, and the heat given off is felt by all around. The heat from the larger ones often drives the crowd back a couple of metres, even though they are already behind barriers that the fire brigade has set several meters from the construction. In narrower streets, the heat scorches the surrounding buildings, and the firemen douse their fronts, window blinds, street signs, etc. with water hoses to stop them catching fire or melting, from the beginning of the ''cremà'' until it cools down.

Away from the ''falles'', people frolic in the streets, the whole city resembling an open-air dance party, except that instead of music there is the incessant (and occasionally deafening) sound of people throwing fireworks around randomly. There are many stalls selling trinkets and snacks such as the typical fried ''porres'', ''churros'' and ''bunyols'', as well as roasted chestnuts.

While the smaller fallas dotted around the streets are burned at approximately the same time, the last falla to be burned is the main one, which is saved until last so that everybody can watch it. This main falla is found outside the ''Ajuntament'' – the city hall building. People arrive a few hours before the scheduled burning time to get a front row view. This final falla is burned in public after the signal from the Fallera Major to officially commence.

===Traditional Dressing===
The traditional dress worn by "fallers" (males) has changed from black trousers and black jacket with white shirt and other motives, to colorful and a more traditional and historic custom with many decorations. These dresses can be very expensive but not as much as the dresses by the "reines falleras" (queens of the festival) and the Royal Court. Prices of female traditional dresses can vary from 2,000 Euros to more than 20,000 Euros. Some of them are astonishing in beauty. They are accompanied with traditional hair style and jewelry.