La Mascletá

La Mascletá, noun, sustantivo, (Valenciano) definition: very hard to define without experiencing it.  This is another important part of the incredible FALLAS.  

La Mascletá is basically a 5 minute non-stop fireworks performance which occurs every day at 2pm in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento (the center of the city), beginning March 1st and ending March 19th (the day all of the 850 fallas will be burned). [400 large fallas and 450 smaller/children fallas]

On Monday, I experienced my first Mascletá.  Some friends and I decided to book it to la Plaza de Ayuntamiento between classes.  Honestly, I was not prepared for the ample amount of fireworks that I was about to witness, but I don't think one can ever truly be prepared for a Mascletá.   The center of the plaza is fenced off 2 layers high and filled with ropes holding fireworks and petardos (firecrackers) that wind back and forth from one end to the other.  Although I watched the spectacle from a street's width away, I could feel the noise and vibrations from each firework inside my body, it traveled from my boots on the ground up through me and shook my shirt.  Even though it was a bright sunny day, the fireworks could still be seen as they exploded high above the thousands of people cramming the streets.  White smoke, yellow, green, red, and blue flooded the sky with great bursts as hundreds of fireworks spontaneously exploded at once and in random intervals.

After the show finally ended, I was left in shock and a bit of silence, then realized that the latter was due to the fact that my ears were ringing.  To my relief, I had not in fact gone deaf, and fully recovered my hearing a few minutes later  ;)

On Wednesday I ran back to see another Mascletá, which to my surprise was extremely different than the first time.  My madre informed me that each day a different pyrotechnic artist puts on the show, and the final day of Fallas the winner gets to perform the last Mascletá of the year.

I plan to go tomorrow as well so will post a picture soon!

More news: upon walking to school this morning, I was surprised that my street was shut down.  Not only that, but workers were constructing an enormous white tent in the middle of the street and putting  lights above it.  The atmosphere in the city is so incredible and exciting, every street I turn onto now has lights hanging over the streets.  These lights usually have the name of the Falla spelled out in the center to identify which streets belong to each group.

For example, this is a picture from today of the street my school is on:

Mi amiga Jordan painting one of the mushrooms (it's upside-down)

Me holding up wooden books that are paper-mache'd and ready to be painted