Las Fallas

Here I am! Sorry for the lapse between blogs. First my computer decided to just break. That was really terrible, but thankfully, I was able to fix it with minimal losses. Then it was Las Fallas and I was out and about experiencing it. This last week my Mom and my sister Emily have been here so I've been going places with them. All said, I haven't been able to blog. Now, on to the exciting stuff. (This is going to be a long blog.)

Las Fallas is absolutely amazing and extremely hard to convey the whole experience but I will do my best. Las Fallas is basically a giant week long party that ends with massive burnings of these giant polyurithaine and wood figures. (It's not an evnironmentally friendly fiesta). It has evolved from the 18th Century when carpenters would build wooden lamp-post type things (called pinots) during the winter to hold their laterns while they worked. When spring time came and the days were longer and they didn't need them any more they would burn them. They always burned them on March 19th which is Dia de San Jose - Day of Saint Joseph, as in Joseph, the carpenter who was Jesus's earthly father. They would also usually burn old clothes, blankets, furniture, etc at the same time that they didn't need anymore. They began to "dress up" the pinots and would shape them into figures of people or leaders to make fun of them. Over the hundreds of years, it has evolved into what it is today.

There are hundreds of Fallas all over the city with representations of political figures, pop culture figures, world events, etc within their sculptures. In addition themes of political satire or social commentary the Fallas are sometimes just animals and other figures. Each Falla also has a smaller falla (called ninot) which usually is a separate theme and has more intricate detail. It was hard for me to tell how tall the Fallas were but smaller ones were probably around 15-20 feet tall and the larger ones were maybe 25-35 feet tall. As I mentioned before, they are constructed completely of polyurathaine and wood.

Fallas take all year to build and are all privately funded, with the exception of the government Falla which receives some tax money. They also have competitions for several categories of Fallas and this year's winning Fallas cost nearly 900,000 Euros, which is almost a $1,000,000, just to give you an idea of the cost. And yes, that one gets burned too. People who fund the fallas are called "Falleros" and contribute money to the building of a certain Falla. Usually, people will contribute money to the falla the will be represent and be placed in their neighborhood. So, some neighborhoods end up having large Fallas and some have smaller Fallas, based on the afluency of the area. In addition to individual contributors, local business corporations will also contribute money to certain Fallas.

Each Falla also has Falleras. Falleras, are women who are the representative of the Falla throughout the year and at the burning, are the ones who light the fuse. There is a Falla Mayor (Older) woman who represents the large Falla and a Falla Menor (Younger) girl who reprsents the Ninot. These women have traditional dresses that they wear that can cost several thousand dollars, as they are all handmade. During Fallas week, you see women and girls everywhere wearing these. In addition to each Falla having their Fallera, there is a Fallera Mayor for the whole city. This is a HUGE honor to them and they have to basically apply for it and provide a resume as to why they would be a good Fallera Mayor.

Falleras also take flowers to a giant Virgin Mary that is built completely out of flowers. I never quite figured out what the giant flower Virgin Mary had to do with the Fallas, but it was really interesting to see. See my pictures to see what I am talking about. Each Falla sends their Fallera to present the flowers to create the Virgin Mary, plust each Falla has a HUGE arrangement of flowers that is offered. It's all in a Plaza by the Cathedral and smells amazing, but to be honest, a giant Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus is just a bit weird. This does not get burned at the end of the week.

So like I said, this is a week long celebration, however, you could say it starts on March 1st. Starting March 1st they have a mascelta every day at 2:00pm. The mascleta is described as and "orchestra" of noise. What it really sounds like is that you are in a war zone (or at least what I imagine a war zone would sound like.) It was the loudest thing I have ever heard. I can't describe it. But to give you and idea of how loud it is, every person told me and my friends, not to cover our ears because our eardrums would burst and instead we had to stand with our mouths open. I don't know how that is supposed to help, but that is what we did. Also, pregnant women are advised not to go as are people with heart conditions because you can feel the explosions. I was standing next to several high-rise buildings and I could visibly see the windows shake as all the fireworks were set off. It's crazy.

Starting on Sunday, the Fallas were all planted (or completely set up) along with the Ninots. There are so many of them, that besides main streets, practically every street is blocked off because there is a Falla on it. Also starting on Sunday there are fireworks displays every nights and people just party every night and set off fireworks all the time. And by all the time, I mean ALL THE TIME. I walked to school at 8:30am and people would be setting them off. Then on the 18th, it's Nit de Foc (Night of Fire) where there is a HUGE fireworks display, but this is not the night they burn the Fallas. On the 19th, is the night of the crema where they set the Fallas on fire. First they burn all of the ninots in the city. Then starting at midnight they start to burn all the Fallas. They each have a little fireworks show and then the thing goes up in (extrememly black) smoke. This I cannot describe, so you will have to look at my pictures. They are the biggest fireworks I have ever seen and was absolutely crazy. The last to burn is the government Falla and everyone goes to the government plaza to watch it.

So how do they keep from the whole city going up in flames? A ninot nor a Falla can be burned without the fire dept from being there to control the flames. They have a schedule of the time each one burns.

Hopefully, this novel gives you an idea of what Fallas is about and helps you understand my pictures more. It is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen or been a part of in my life and I would highly suggest it. Now, check out my pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6244639&l=a13bb06e9b&id=685220612

This is a youtube video of a mascleta.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZBVlm1gSyc

This is a youtube video of a crema. Just watch it with the volume off because the person says "Oh my God" about 100 times and it's annoying but it's amature video and gives a good feel of what it's like to be there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXuCNPxdddk&feature=related

"Estoy constipada" & Other "Falsos Amigos"

Estoy constipada y embarazada. You might think that I just said that I’m constipated and that I’m embarassed, but what I really just said was I’m congested/have a cold and I’m pregnant. Neither of those are true, but these are just two very good examples of “falsos amigos”. “Falsos amigos” are Spanish words that sound like English words (or any other language) but mean something completely different. Lucky for me, it seems like English has the most these words. Most people think that you can just add “o” to any English word and you’ll be pretty close to what the Spanish word is, but “falsos amigos” prove this theory completely wrong.

One of the first “falsos amigos” that you learn is “embarazada”. Like I mentioned, it means pregnant, but sounds like embarrassed. Everyone seems to have a story about how they accidentally used “embarazado/a” instead of ponerse rojo or some other word for embarrassed. Another one you learn pretty quickly is “carpeta”. It actually means folder, but sounds like carpet, so at first you’re in class wondering why the teacher is talking about carpets until you realize (or look up) that “carpeta” means folder. And the actual word for carpet? Alfombra.

Here are a few more of the “falsos amgios” that makes my Spanish learning a bit of a nightmare.
Exito = success
Suceso = happening, occurrence, event
Largo = long
Actualmente = right now
Capa = Layer
Quitar = to remove
Remover = to stir or shake
Mole = soft
Libreria = bookstore

Maybe that gives you a bit of an idea of some of the complications of Spanish, but it’s all good times.
Disfruta!
(Enjoy!)

:)
Andrea

Hasta Luego Granada.

Today is my last day in Granada. Tomorrow morning, I board a train to Valencia where I will spend the next two months of my time in Spain. Granada has been fun and I definately think that it was a good city to start off in. I hope that my time in Valencia goes just as well. It will be different because Valencia is a larger, more modern city. In addition, I will be living in an apartment instead of a student residence so hopefully I will get to experience a bit more of the culture. Plus, my mom and my sister Emily are coming to visit me in two weeks so I will also get to practice my tourist guide skills so that will be fun. :)

So, other than that, there's not much to say. Stayed tuned for adventures in Valencia, Spain.
:)
Andrea

Flamenco

This weekend I went to two espectaulos (shows) de flamenco. They were great. They all had singing, dancing and guitar. Now, like most types of dance that I see, I want to learn dance flamenco. Besides the fact that it's super cool to watch, I also think that it would be an amazing workout. However, flamenco isn't all about the dance.

(Commence flamenco tutorial)
Flamenco, first and foremost, is a style of singing. The guitar, percussion, etc, was all added later on and the dance was added lastly. Flamenco originated within the gypsy culture. This is about where the knowledge of the origins of flamenco ends. It isn't clear about when this style of song started, nor really where, since it is a part of the gypsy culture. What is known is that some of the gypsies stayed in Spain and it has now become a trademark of Spain. Flamenco has morphed in to something that is hard to categorize. According to my professor, modern flamenco artists have branched out to collaborate with B.B. King and other blues, and jazz artists. (This sounds extremely interesting to me and I would like to hear some of that music.) Other flamenco "purists" remain close to the roots and perform the "pure" flamenco without instruments and produce a sound that I cannot describe (although some may compare it to wailing).

In addition to an interesting sound, flamenco is not for the daytime. Flamenco is for the late night and only the tourist shows here start before 11:00. In addition, the most famous flamenco artists will only perform occasionally because flamenco is something that must be felt and not just done or performed. One of my professors told me that there is a flamenco artist who would schedule his performances very far apart so that he wasn't performing every night and it wasn't just a routine. Even then, my professor said that if he didn't have the feeling of flamenco he wouldn't perform and the concert would be cancelled.

I wish I could explain flamenco better because I don't feel like I'm doing it justice. It is really interesting though and deeply ingrained in the history of Spain, however, for every one person I meet who really likes it, I meet one who really doesn't care for it. So, although it's a large part of Spain, I wouldn't say it is Spain. Instead, I would say come visit me and you'll see what Spain really is. :)