Photos from Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain, 2004

first of all, any city whose mascot is a bat is not to be messed with...

there are all kinds of Fallas--evil clowns, cartoony dragons, movies, cupidic, demonic...

detail shot of my favorite one; remember, this is 40-foot-tall papier mache.

the same one, other side

same one, burning

firemen soaking the nearby buildings to prevent the whole city going up in flames

even outside the Fallas fires, the sidewalks are scorched into Miros and Pollocks by kids' fireworks

the other part of Las Fallas is not about fire, but about flowers

...specifically, they are both offerings to Mary and her monument itself.

they're brought in parades from all the neighborhoods of the city, by the Falleras & Falleros

on the street garbage and roses mingle