Every year in March, Valencia becomes a scene of joyous celebration during the Fiesta de San José (Feast Day of Saint Joseph).
This lively religious festival is known for its creative installations called fallas, large floats featuring figures made of papier mâché. These creations are set up in the streets and then burned at midnight on the last day of the fiesta.
The custom originated in the Middle Ages, when carpenters and other craftsmen would burn leftover scraps of wood and other materials on the feast of Saint Joseph.
The Museo Fallero (Fallas Museum) is a good way to experience some of the energy of this event if you visit in another season. Here are examples of the ninots (figures) that have been saved by popular vote.
It is also interesting to see how the ninots have evolved with technology, from early wax figures dressed in real clothes to modern ones made of papier-mâché and most recently of polystyrene.
