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The Festival of Las Fallas in Valencia
The annual festival of Las Fallas is held in Valencia, Spain every March. It began as the carpenter’s celebration of the arrival of spring when they would burn the parrots (wooden pieces) that held their lights up during the winter. This festival of art combines tradition and the Valencian sense of irony in a unique spectacle that envelopes the whole city for 19 days and makes Valencia a great place to visit during this time.
Huge paper-mâché figures are created by artists from the city, and these line the streets during the festivities. After being judged and awarded, at the end of the festival, every single one is burned to the ground.
Each day of the festival at 2 pm a fireworks show takes place at the Plaza de Ayuntamiento in the center of the city. Grab some food or drinks from the many trucks that pop up and enjoy the show. At night, discomoviles, which are mini outdoor clubs, get the party going.
On the morning of the 17th, a procession of all the colorful figures takes place through the city, on the way to the main plaza. This is when the judging takes place. A flowering offering is made to the Virgen de Los Desamparados, patron saint of Valencia. Bouquets of flowers are piled high against the statue, becoming part of her cape, which stands at nearly 15 meters tall.
This amazing festival is representative of Valencian culture, and their love of the festivities shows. Even children get involved, carrying flowers and throwing mini firecrackers to the ground, which make little pops as they land.
Many tourists come to Valencia for the festival and some return year after year, swelling the Valencian population to more than double its size. The festival is definitely a bucket list experience, but it will leave you loving Las Fallas and craving a return.
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The Outdoor Art Project in the Swiss Alps
Art is subjective, and some may describe it as beautiful while others find it not to their taste. The artist can explain it but that isn’t necessarily how the viewer will accept it. For some people, they think that art simply hangs in galleries, that it is painted or sculpted. The truth is that art can be much simpler, or indeed more complicated. It can be made of many textures and colors, and sometimes none at all.
Brothers Frank and Patrik Riklin attended art school separately, with one heading to Zurich and the other to Berlin. However, they have come back together to create art, and share a studio on the top floor of a factory that once housed textiles. Their Swiss Atelier für Sonderaufgaben is located in St. Gallen near Lake Constance. One of their most interesting works in the past few years is a hotel perched on a Swiss mountain.
Wait, is that a hotel or is it art? To them, it is both, and indeed to the 4,500 people on the waiting list in 2017 - it seems that interpretations don’t really matter. The project is called Null Stern and it is a hotel room without walls or a roof.
The view is spectacular, of course. Those who stay there sleep in a comfortable queen bed, as seen in the photo, and breakfast is delivered by a local farmer, who comes clad in a tuxedo but wears mountain boots. The bathroom is an inconvenient ten minutes away. It is located in Appezellerland, overlooking the Safien Valley. There is an alternative if the weather turns bad, but then it is no longer sleeping in a work of art. Perhaps the experience is moving art?
The brothers have not just created this bedroom, but also made installations in other public spaces.
