You may remember that Fallas started as a commemoration to St Joseph, the carpenter. Today, is his feast day and the conclusion of this 19 day festival.

I couldn’t find anyone interested in joining me. So at 11:30, I left the apartment, with some cokes and snacks. I knew if I wanted to see today’s Maskleta at 2:00, I needed to be there by 12:00. Else, the plaza would be completely packed and I’d miss the biggest show of the season.

I walked through several neighborhoods, each getting ready for their own Maskleta. The are over 300 Fallas neighborhood groups in Valencia and nearly everyone of them has one or more Maskleta over the 19 day festival and most have one today.

I passed this one also in Ruzafa.

And I got to the Plaza at noon, just in time. Within a few minutes, the place was packed.

And the conclusion:

It really was worth the ovation that was spontaneously offered to the pyrotechnic company that put on the event.

As I walked away, i noticed this “work of art,” in support of immigrants from Africa. It seems Europe is facing much of the same discussion as in the US.

And as I walked home, I approached the Ruzafa Market just as they were starting their Maskleta. They started using an ear-piercing, high-pitched group of rockets I thought, “No, you don’t need to do that to your ears.” So I walked around the block. But that path took me back to the same event… and by which time, the ear piercing sounds had stopped. So, of course I watched…. From a distance.

As I write this at 5:00, the sound of Maskleta and personal fireworks around the city continue almost non stop.

I debated whether I was done for the day. But a text from Rafa urging me to go to the city center, even alone, would be worth it.

So, at 9:30, I left to walk to the city center.

By the time I got close to downtown, there was paper and cardboard falling from all the fireworks in the city.

So I stopped here and waited.

And waited.

While we waited, we saw them filling the statue with explosives and stringing fireworks all over it.

At 11 p,m., the doves, right on schedule were being turned from this:

To this:

About this time, the local Falla band arrived.

And the people got tired. But we waited.

We eventually learned that they had to wait for the firefighters before the sculpture could be burned. So we kept waiting.

I thought about just going home. But I reasoned, “I’ve waited this long, what’s a bit more?”

So I, and a few thousand close friends continued to wait.

The band played some more.

Finally, after 12:40, the bomberos (firefighters) arrived to cheers. And parked their big red truck exactly in front of me, blocking my view of everything.

The good news is that by this late hour, enough folks had given up and gone home, I could move and get a better view of the action.

And very quickly, it was engulfed in flames.

I could feel the flames from where I was. When most of the structure had collapsed, I started for home.

Already crews were hard at work cleaning the city.

When I left my neighborhood, our falla was standing tall.

When I got home at 1:30, this is the exact same place.

I’m told when I go to school tomorrow, the city will look like nothing had ever happened.

It’s no longer St Joseph’s Day. I’m going to sleep. I have school tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and watching.

Here endeth Fallas.