What exactly are “les falles” and “els ninots”?
If this is the reader’s first visit to the city of Valencia, perhaps it is a little difficult to understand the exact nature of a falla and reason behind the Museum, located today in the former Fathers Pauls convent.
A falla is a peculiar, satirical monument made of flammable materials (cardboard, wood, etc.) which is raised in the squares and main street junctions of the cities, towns and villages of the Valencia Region. The monument is exhibited to the public for various days before being burnt on the eve of the Day of Saint Joseph (March 19th).
The monuments are possible thanks to the efforts of the neighbourhood groups known as comissions (organizing committees) which work throughout the year organisazing of the festivals. The construction of the monuments is entrusted to the body of craftsmen known as the artistes fallers.
Each artista faller selects the ninot (the name given to the individual figures which appear in each of the monuments) he considers the best example of those featured in the monument he has worked on and, several weeks before the plantà (the raising of the monuments in the street), all of the selected ninots are presented together in an exhibition. A prize is awarded to the ninot which, for its beauty, charm or satirical nature, the vox populi considers worthy of a pardon from the flames.
Each year, the prize winning ninots (one from the larger falles and one from the children’s falles) are incorporated into the Museum’s collection. Together with the photographs of the best falles and the winning designs of the annual poster competition, the selected ninots make up the museum’s collection, a representation of the patrimony of popular valencian culture and of this great festival known as Les Falles de València.
The history of “les falles”
Around the middle of the 18th Century, les Falles was a simple festival included in the customary programme of acts which took place on St. Joseph’s Day (19th March). The city’s inhabitants awoke at dawn on 18th March to the sight of puppets suspended in the streets (hung from cables stretched between the windows of the buildings) or of one or two dolls (ninots) raised on small platforms positioned next to the walls of the buildings.
The scenes represented by the figures alluded to events, behaviour or people considered in some way reprehensible and were exposed to public ridicule. During the daytime, children and young people collected flammable materials and prepared small fires from old, discarded objects, which also received the name of falles. The puppets and the platform scenes were burnt at nightfall on the eve of Saint Joseph’s Day amid the cheering of large crowds of locals. The following day was traditionally a half-holiday and the carpenters and devout Valencians attended the local churches to celebrate the day of their Patron. Saint’s Day celebrations were held in many homes in honour of all those named “Pep” (the familiar diminutive of the name Joseph), with cakes and fritters and aniseed being served. In short, a popular neighbourhood festival.
The first documentation related to the Falles is an official letter addressed to the Mayor of the City of Valencia requesting him to prohibit the raising of falles (especially those of a theatrical type) in the narrower streets and near the walls of the houses. As a consequence of these measures, the city police (at that time in charge of fire prevention in the city) ordered the inhabitants to raise their falles in wider streets, in street junctions and in squares. Curiously, this simple measure was unwittingly to be responsible in the long term for an important transformation in the festival.
Although the falles maintained a horizontal, theatrical two-bodied structure (consisting of a platform upon which a scene was installed), their situating in the centre of the street or square led them to be conceived as a free-standing form, capable of being moved on wheels. A complete view of the falla was only possible by walking around it and, in distancing the falla from the walls of
the buildings, new constructive possibilities were unveiled. It was also at this time that the messages which have traditionally been attached to the falles began to appear.
For a considerable period of time the term falla was employed to describe torches, bonfires, puppets and platforms. As time went by, the meaning of the term was progressively limited to designate the satirical pyres raised in the streets; platform-mounted figures exposing the prevailing vices or prejudices of the époque to the ridicule of the public. These were the falles which generated the greatest expectation each year and which the inhabitants of the city chose to
visit in enormous numbers. The wooden frame structure of these falles was prismatic, generally quadrangle, and was covered with ornamental, painted boards, canvasses or paper which hid the flammable materials installed in the base.
The ninots, or figures, which appeared in the scene were dressed with fabric or old clothing.
In much the same way as els miracles de Sant Vicent, these satirical falles were accompanied by various pages of rhyming verse which, hung as pasquinades from nearby walls or from the framework of the platform, developed the theme staged in the falla. Towards the middle of the 19th century, these verses were printed and published in a smallbooklet form, leading to the appearance of the llibret. As a consequence of this development, the possibilities for elaborating the theme of the scenes were increased considerably.
The most peculiar characteristic of the satirical falles was the incarnation of some reprehensible social occurrence. Each falla had a specific theme and was motivated by a critical, or at least burlesque, intention. As opposed to the simple bonfires and pyres of old, discarded materials, the satirical falles alluded to people, events or collective behaviour which the fallers considered worthy of correction or derision. There were two main themes which occupied the fallers of the mid 19th century: eroticism and social criticism.
In 1858, the fallers of the Plaça del Teatre chose to raise a moving falla which alluded directly to
the social inequalities of the time. The verses attached to the monument were written by Josep Maria Bonilla. The falla was banned by the authorities, but the theme was repeated by the fallers the following year. At around the same time, the term “falla eròtica” (erotic falla – of a marked anti-marital tendency), was employed by the press of the period to designate a type of falla, very popular at the time, replete with sugges-tive or shocking allusions expressed through a language plagued with ambiguities and which reflected a hedonistic and lewd mentality. Bernat i Baldovi wrote various llibrets which touched on this theme but the most well-known is, perhaps, La creu del matrimoni (The matrimonial cross’), written in 1866 by Blai Bellver for the falla of the Plaça de la Trinitat of Xàtiva, and which merited the categorical condemnation of the Archbishop.
During the l9th century, the Town Council in particular and the rest of the civic authorities in general maintained a wary, mistrustful attitude towards les Falles.
This repressive policy, officially justified by a need to modernize and civilise the customs of the city and ultimately aimed at eradicating the popular festivals (Carnival and les Falles, among others), was intensified during the 1870’s through the imposition of heavy taxes on the permissions necessary for the raising of falles and on the public performance of music. The pressure generated by these measures led to the emergence of a movement aimed at defending the typical traditions and, as a result of an initiative launched in 1885 by the renaissance association Lo Rat Penat, the magazine La Traca awarded the first prizes for the best falles in 1887. This explicit support from the civil society, manifested through the awarding of these first prizes, awakened the competitive spirit of the neighbourhood comissions and stimulated the fervour of the fallers in general. A new, aesthetic tendency was discovered and the falla artistica (artistic falla) was born. Whilst not completely renouncing the traditional critical elements of the falles (it was not unusual for the falles of the period to represent local, political events), the introduction of the falla artística led to the predomination of more formal, constructive and aesthetic preoccupations in the development of the monuments.
Amid a fervent social clamour (combined with the demands of the many cultural, recreational, Valencianist, sports, political and trade associations and organizations which promoted the development of les Falles during the first decade of the 20th century) and with certain measures of hesitancy and diffidence, the Valencia Town Council took over from Lo Rat Penat in 1901 and awarded the first municipal prizes to the falles. Curiously, the two prizes (one of 100 and one of 50 pesetas) were awarded only once les falles had finished. In response to this overwhelming social support shown towards les Falles, the festival adopted a markedly Valencianist stance and a growing fusion between the festa fallera and the cultural identity of the Valencia Region was produced.
From the beginnings of the 20th century, the falles abandoned the traditional dual structure (platform/stage) and a new concept of the monuments was developed in which the ninots were no longer the most important element. The falla was now composed of the superimposition of diverse elements and, in general, three differert levels: a low base composed of tiers on which the different
scenes were mounted, a central body (which served as a support for the monument) and a crown.
This last element usually consisted of a large dimensioned, allegoric figure capable of condensing the theme displayed and bearing some relation to the lower scenes.
The content of the falla was no longer reduced exclusively to a scene supported on a stage. The theme now became latent in the full body of the sculpture, requiring the observer to circle the falla and to inspect its full form from top to bottom in order to decipher the motive and the meaning of the monument.
The falles became lavish, imposing, majestic and suggestive structures, their presence being visible from afar. The pressure generated by the prizes awarded by the Town Council led to the majority of the falles adopting a proportional, baroque and monumental form. In 1927, the association for the promotion of tourism Valencia Atracción organised the first Falles assembly. The success of the event led to an increase in the involvement of Valencian society in les Falles and a consequent rise in the number of monuments raised in the streets. The growth of the festival brought with it a need for an improved organisation. Thus the Associació General Fallera Valenciana and the Comité Central Faller were founded in representation of the comissions and with the task of organising the festival.
In 1929, the Town Council began a poster competition to promote les Falles and, in 1932, became the organising body of the full programme of events, founding the Setmana Fallera (Falles Week). The majority of the monuments were the work of specialised craftsmen/artists who worked on the construction of the falles for various months. The craftsmen had by now grouped together in the Associació d’Artistes Fallers. It was during this period that les Falles truly became the festa major of the Valencians.
An article titled “Cómo se preparan las Fallas” (How the falles are prepared), published in 1935 and signed by V. Llopis Piquer, provided a detailed description of the construction of a falla:
The most important elements used in the construction of a falla are the following: cardboard, plaster and wax, without forgetting the wood used for the supports nor the hessian-covered wire mesh employed for the larger figures. With these simple matcrials, the Valencian artists compete among themselves with enormous, lasting sculpted creations, demonstrating their abilities through the erection of great monuments.
The most difficult task, and the most enjoyable, lies in the manufacture of the moulds used for production of the heads of the figures. The moulds are made from clay, a clay with which the artist will form the effigy of a man or a woman and will impregnate with the essence of life itself. The plaster cast obtained from the mould serves for the making of a series of wax heads. The addition of a moustache, the painting of a wandering eye or the hint of a sneer in the lips help to dehumanise these figures which make up diverse personalities which we see displayed in the falla.
The construction of the bodies is somewhat easier. Wet cardboard is pressed ontoplaster moulds, a technique which permits the artist an admirable working margin.
Any self-respecting artista faller will delegate this task to his apprentices. Skilled sculptors then rework the clay, a new mould is formed and a new human incarnation is brought to life. Through the figure’s physical imperfections and the addition of the various material complements we thus witness the progressive birth of the diverse characters of the falla, unique in their origin, multiple in their appearance.
Mention could also be made here of the creation of the hands, all products of the same technique in spite of the different attitudes they adopt. The painting of the wax is very difficult indeed. There are very few who know how, through the use of colour, to achieve the life-like appearance which the figure of a falla requires. The miracle is achieved through study and perseverance.
What is the next step? The mounting of the bodies within a structure, this time of wood, in order that such fragile materials as straw, fabric, sawdust and wax may be firmly attached. Once the characters are mounted comes the day of the plantá; they are lined up against the walls of the houses whilst the struts and mouldings are nailed into place, the dark of the night confusing the figures with real people, the observer unable to distinguish between the real and the fantastic.
Fallero Museum
- MONTEOLIVETE, 4
- 46006 VALENCIA
- Phone: 96.208.46.25
- email: museufaller@valencia.es
- url: http://www.fallas.com
NOTICE: The Fallero de València Museum begins some works necessary to alleviate the humidity problems that the building suffers, for this reason some inconveniences will be caused to our visitors that we can not avoid, and some room will not be able to be visited. We apologize for the inconvenience that may occur during your visit.
SCHEDULE:
– Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm, uninterrupted hours.
– Sunday and holidays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (holidays are held in Valencia on April 13, 14, 17 and 24, August 15, October 9 and 12, November 1 and December 6 and 8)
– CLOSED: January 1 and 6, May 1 and December 25.
The session of the municipal plenary session held on December 15, approved that the Faller Museum of Valencia will be free for the duration of the waterproofing works that are running on the ground floor.
RATES: (Free until further notice)
– Individual ticket: 2 euros.
– Sundays and holidays: free
– BONUS: 6 euros (valid for three days).
– More information about REDUCED RATES (pdf 17 kb)
EMT lines (BUS) 14, 15, 18, 35 and 95
GUIDED TOURS: included in the price of the entrance, they take place from Tuesday to Friday at 10.30 am, until a group of 15 people is completed. Spanish, Valencian and English.
In case of groups, it is recommended to arrange the visit previously in the email:
RESERVATIONS: visitesmuseufaller@valencia.es
See 3D presentation
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=kdzJ1ckHDCq&utm_source=4