I'll promise, this will be the last post related to Mascletàs! At least for the next few years. If you've seen my other posts, you'll already know what a Mascletà is. People often wonder why these fireworks are shot off in broad daylight. The main reasons are the smoke, noise and rhythm of the explosions, but also, there is plenty to look at: including explosions, glitter and colored powder. If you adjust the contrasts, you can actually see what's going on. For example:
Isn't it beautiful? I played around with these kind of pictures during Fallas 2015, and have decided to produce more for this year. I think these explosions are pieces of art which are difficult to notice until they've been tampered with, in photo-editing software.
Above you can see how a smaller street Mascletà is set up. The regular 2pm Mascletà in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento is similar, but on a much bigger scale. If you happen to be in Valencia for Fallas and encounter one of these street Mascletàs, please be warned. They're EXTREMELY loud.
The explosives look like candy dangling from a string. And when Mike showed up at his first Mascletà, that's actually what he thought they were! He didn't know anything about Valencia, and showed up to something called a "Mascletà", expecting some kind of dance where the Falleras and Falleros would gather the dangling treats. Like a Valencian Piñata 😂! Watch the full video of the street Mascletà below:
As you can see, these firecrackers which look like candy light up, drop to the floor and explode! The Valencians (and we) get a major kick out of it. And the craziest thing is, after the final Mascletà on the last day of Fallas, every group in the city lights up one of these... it lasts for hours, and the entire city is shaking with incredible energy.
During Fallas 2018, Mike and I saw 23 Mascletàs (including two at night) and three fireworks! That sounds like overkill, but we loved every single BOOM. Enjoy my collection of Mascletà photographs and highlights video below:
