Thursday, March 28

A slow-burning ‘cremà’ puts an end to the Fallas that aspire to leave the pandemic behind

At eleven o’clock at night the fire began to climb the structure of the failure of the Valencia City Council to make it disappear. And with it, it is expected that the worst of the pandemic will also vanish. The cream This Saturday has put an end to the Fallas of 2022, the first without restrictions other than the use of a mask since the state of alarm left the party without starting to announce the start of the health emergency.

Three years after the last celebration, with the parenthesis of the fallas postponed to September 2021, the Valencian festivities have become the first massive ones that are celebrated in their usual calendar. With them an expectation is transferred: that life returns to normal.

The rain that has accompanied the entire week of Fallas acts has made it difficult to burn the monuments, but has not generated incidents. Bad weather, which has forced some pyrotechnic firings to be postponed, has not prevented the development of the offering during the two days nor the arrival of visitors eager to observe satirical art in the capital.

The storm, protagonist of the week, has also been of some sculptures, with climate change as the axis of the municipal failure. The work of Alejandro Santaeulalia and the urban artist Dulk, its environmental motto was the phrase “Protegix allò que estimes” (protect what you love), with the image of a bear melted by human action on the planet.

In the balance of the mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribó, the mayor has highlighted that the festivities have meant “a return to normality” with the mask as the “only limiting element”. “They have been a festival that has generated great enthusiasm”, he explained, as well as stressing that “they have restored vitality” to the Valencians. However, Ribó has outlined several serious incidents: a young man who died during a festival in the Central Market, the vandalization of two Fallas monuments and the excesses in some festivals, denounced by the neighbors.

The ritual that ends the party was monitored and attended by a reinforced fire department and by 1,400 workers from the extraordinary municipal cleaning service that allowed the city to return to its daily rhythm this Sunday.



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