Cleaning

This is the image of my morning walks to the Spanish class.

Every morning, the vendors ritually washed the front of their businesses. It seemed as if all of them used the same pine-scented washing detergent, which diffused the air overpowering the orange blossom aroma when in season. They say the sense of smell creates the strongest memories: this fragrance, which is associated with cleanness and freshness for me, is engraved in my olfactory cells forever...

Reinas de Falleras

Dilara with our good friends David and Suni's (right corner) daughter Maria, reina de la Foc, Sagrada Familia-Corea.

When we were new to our environment, unfortunately many important traditions passed by without our notice. In November, there was a widely televised event of naming the 2008’s Fallera Mayor, Angela Bataller Palmer, and Fallera Mayor Infantil, Alba Garcia Lorente, which we paid little attention and did not even know the significance of the title until the Fallas in March.

Every year, each falla-community nominates and selects their local Reinas Fallas, which includes a group of girls in adults and youth. The number of Reinas vary community to community. In Gandia Sant Josep- Raval had five Reinas Infantil: Falla, Foc, Fiesta, Poesia and Art; while it had three adult Reinas: Falla, Foc and Fiesta. All communities must definitely have a Reina de Fallas and most also have Reina del Foc. Also each city's Junta Local Fallera and Ayuntamiento select its Fallera Mayor and Fallera Mayor Infantil and their courts. Each Fallera Mayor has her own court made up of representatives of each Falla-community. The Fallera Mayor is like the Miss USA: she is the face of the festival making visits to Valencian organizations and presiding on major events.

The title of Fallera is pretty prestigious in Valencia and the competition is fierce. The participation may cost one tens of thousands of Euros spent on clothing (some can be as expensive as $10,000), accessories, hair styling, make-ups and organizing and attending social events.

Our hair stylist, Amanda of X-Centric hair salon, fixing one of the reinas hair

All done - an art form!

Some people begin with running for Fallera Infantil and continue the competition up until they run out of money or no longer eligible. I am told that the ladies are nominated according to their specific qualities to represent these communities (wonder if the politics does not get involved at some point - my friend says "no!"), but I am not sure if one can also self-nominate. A group of men is also elected to accompany each fallera during some of the events. As in the case of the beauty contests everywhere, contradicting sentiments about the Fallera’s essence was also noticeable among younger generation.

During the Fallas parades, these reinas headed the parade of falla in their neighborhoods and attended the community functions mostly held in the tents by their monuments

Right before a parade when the corte de honor is getting ready

Three of the Fallera de Infantil (Maria in the middle)

Some of the representatives

We also saw the Fallera Mayor walking along with the dignitaries during the Santa Semana processions.

Far left in black dress Angela Bataller Palmer (Fallera Mayor de Gandia)during the hermandad Christ Resucido processions on March 23rd.

Throughout the week, the falleras walk around in their beautifully crafted folkloric outfits and male accompaniments in less flashy traditional clothing. They all have a band across their torso adorned by their representative communities’ insignia. The Falleras Mayores can be distinguished by the colors of the Valencian flag on their bandages.

For more info about this event, you may follow the following link:

http://www.ciberfallas.net/general/valencias-falleras-mayores-proclamation-act-2010/

Las Fallas - Un Spectacular Valenciano

With our great friends, MacAulays

Undoubtedly, this is one of the most spectacular fiestas that I have witnessed. During the fiesta days - and partly throughout the year - the streets become alive with fireworks displays, music bands, artistic lighting, street performances, parades and more...

We were lucky for being in the Valencia region during this one of a kind annual festival and got the chance to share the experience with our friends, the MacAulays.

The Fallas, a tribute to St. Joseph, the patron St. of the carpenters' guild, is celebrated March 13-19th. The 2008 Fallas was exceptional in the sense that it coincided with Santa Semana (Easter), which made it difficult for the first timers, like us, to appreciate what customs belonged truly to Fallas and which ones to the Easter. Nevertheless throughout the week, Valencia and the Valencians were donned in festival attire and everybody seemed to be celebrating.

The most important component of this festival is the effigies, which are basically combinations of miniature and giant papier-mâché, wood and wax thematic sculptures. This part of the celebration apparently goes back to the mid-18^th century when the morning of the March 18^th during the celebrations of St Joseph’s Day, people strung rag dolls called peleles across the city streets from window to window and put up niñots referring to an event or certain individuals, who were particularly deserving public derision. Throughout the day the children and young people collected the objects and burnt them on bonfires called fallas. This beginning gradually led to today’s highly organized and grandiose celebrations. For those of you interested, detailed information about the history of Fallas can be accessed from the American Club of Valencia.

The preparation for the Fallas is a yearlong process. This is a fiesta with a complex, well-tuned business and administrative structure: the Junta Central Fallera (or Fallas Central Board) is its governing body and organizes all official events. Every monument is set up by a district association called a "comisión fallera" (Fallas Committee), managed by its members, the "Falleros." I hear this is a job taken very seriously and artists are well respected. Each Fallas Committee decides on a theme (usually a satirized version of current events)

Encouraging people to vote

and builds its work of art created by hundreds of specialists: carpenters, painters, sculptors, designers, etc (2008 Gandia Fallas employed 26 artists). During each Fallas Year (which officially begins on March 20th and ends the following March 19th), they meet periodically to decide on the fiesta's main lines of action. All kinds of activities take place throughout the whole year: from sporting (such as soccer championships) to cultural events (theatre, poetry or dancing contests) plus displays of Valencia's own folklore, traditions and customs. Many of these activities are organized by the Fallas Committees themselves, complementing the work of the Junta Central Fallera. (http://www.fallasfromvalencia.com/index.htm).

The figures of the Fallas (ninots) look like cartoon characters. They show off their lively colors and enormous size, and make clear which personalities have been the focus of public opinion and attention. There are few Spanish politicians who escape from the satire of the "fallero" masters. One definitely needs to see these works in person to appreciate the delicacy and artistic value.

Beginning March 14^th, these ninots were placed around the city for the public display. Each delegation set a tent near their ninots and served food and drinks – large quantities of paella and alcohol! I am told that in Valencia they prepare paella in the largest possible pan and serve it to the public.

During the week of Fallas, the monuments are judged and the best ones win prizes. There are several categories to be placed and then the winner the Fallas. This year's winner was the monument titled "L'evolució de grans descobriments" (Evolution of Great Discoveries), of Communities Sant Josep Raval and Plaça Prado by the artists Palacio and Serra.

The winner of the miniature ninots (Committee Carrer Major i Passeig)

This is a pretty pricey affair (I hope it contributes to the local economies as lucratively) - just to be burnt on the night of the March 19^th! The budget of 2008 Fallas Communities in Gandia area was €1,663,500. The most expensive monument in Gandia Fallas had cost around €60,000 (the cheapest one was €2,500) and the Valencia official monument would not even be included in competition due to unfair resource advantage of the government. The burning of the product of such laborious effort and money supposedly signifies the sentiment of not to be attached to the worldly possessions and fret about their loss. This reminded me of the destruction of the Buddhist Sand-Mandala.

The partial 2008 program of the Fallas in Gandia was:

1. Presentation of the Fallera Mayor Infantil and Fallera Mayor: Since I have another entry for the Queens of the Fallas, I will not get into explaining it here – November 16-17, 2007 at the Municipal Sports Pavillion

2. Presentation of the official Fallas book “FOC I FLAMA.” – January 23, 2008 at the Marques de Gonzalez de Quiros House

3. Announcement and Proclamation: The processions of the different Fallas delegations arrive to attend the Festivity Proclamation. From the Town Hall Balcony, the two Falleras Mayores and the city major invite the citizens to participate in the festivities – February 2, 2008 at the Main Square

4. Great Cavalcade and Children’s Cavalcade of the Ninot: These are series of parades by different Fallas delegations. Some of our friends from the swim team took part in the children’s cavalcade. They end with the participation of Falleras Mayor and Infantil, their Court of Honor and the local Fallas council – February 17 and 24, 2008.

5. Ninot Exhibition and Prizes: Fallas Associations exhibit their best Ninots in Adults and Children categories. After the prize-giving, the exhibition will remain open until March 14. – February 29, 2008 the Marques de Gonzalez de Quiros House

6. Finals “Bac and Truc” Championships: Championship matches for the 3^rd and 4^th classifications takes place followed by the final and presentation of prizes – March 3, 2008 Junta Local Fallera home

7. Planta: Hundreds of different Fallas monuments are constructed throughout the day – March 15, 2008

8. Baptism – Prizes 2008: Courtesy visit of the Fallas by the Falleres Mayores, Court of Honors, Junta Local Fallera, and the baptism ceremonies of the children born before the March 12^th at the San Jose Church – March 16, 2008

9. Offering of Flowers to Our Lady of the Forsaken: Citizens pay respect at the feet of her patron saint offering thousands of bouquets of flowers, baskets of posies and floral shrine arrangements in 24 hours. At the end, the previously barren mannequin is donned with the beautiful flowers – March 18, 2008 at the Main Square

Glass version of Virgin on display at the Palau Ducal dels Borja

10. Crema: Burning concludes the Fallas.

Maria is lighting the ninots

Almost done!

The Crema stage was quite ceremonial. The burning of the ninots began around 11 o’clock with the ones that did not earn any prize. Each monument was loaded with the large volumes of fireworks. A reina de la Fallas initiated the fireworks, which started a cascade of explosions. The people were restricted to a safe distance from the monuments, but once the fire began the heat was quite overwhelming. The fire hazard possibilities, such as fire sparkles catching nearby houses, trees or people seemed immeasurable.

Luckily, the city had provided a good supply of fire fighters and emergency medical team for just in case. The fire fighters also put out the fire once the big chunk of the monument was gone. The last effigies to be lit were those that were awarded prizes by the General Fallas Committee and those in the City Hall Square.

Enduring noise and heat is not everyone’s cup of tea. In her blog España Profunda, Katie lists 10 reasons why one should not participate in this annual event. If you have doubts, I recommend you check out her post.

Evidently each year, only one "ninot" is saved from the flames by popular vote, and exhibited in the Museum of the Ninot together with those from the various years.

Following the burning, people buy more fireworks and continue their own personal pyromania. The Spanish must have great fascination with fire and fireworks for almost every one of their celebrations somehow incorporates fire into it.

After watching our friend Maria, Reina de la Foc of the monument start the fire on her delegation’s monument, we went to a tapas bar and had delicious variety of tapas for pretty cheap price. The bars and restaurants fill with crowds catching a bite and drink following the adrenaline surge. The kids found a vendor to purchase a supply of their own firecrackers and let them go off right in the middle of the wandering crowd – something which they would not even dream of doing back home.

More info on Las Fallas can be found on this Valencia government official site: http: //www.fallas.com/

Valencia Oranges

There is no way that you live in "Comunidad de Valencia" and not get intimately involved in their famous oranges. Our good friends, the Faus, own a farm home which includes an orange grove - many people I have met here do have such arrangements. They have been sharing some of their naranja crop with us - well, some might be a bit of an underestimate: we have received four crateful of oranges and mandarins in one month, so imagine the amount of citrus eating and juice drinking (our next door neighbors have also been supplying us with some oranges). The lemons below is Faus' first crop.

These citrus are completely natural without any spraying or processing because the Faus are not producing them for commercial use. The Valencian oranges have a thin peel and are extremely juicy and sweet. They are best for making juice because it is hard to peel and slice them. These oranges became pretty handy while Grandma and our friends the Wassermans were visiting.

Yunus and Dilara made a huge production of orange juice and stored for later consumption. Here is a juice making operation at the Tezcans:



According to February 2006 USA Department of Agriculture report, Spain (estimated 2005/6 production 4.8 million tons) is the 5th highest citrus producing country (falling behind Mexico after a severe drought 2004, worst in 60 years). Brazil (estimated 18.2 million tons) is the largest producer followed by China (14.4 million tons, mostly mandarin and tangerine), USA (10.6 million), and Mexico. Spain does not produce much grapefruit. The report states that citrus production was affected in year 2005-6 by Hurricane Wilma in USA, abandonment of citrus fields in Brazil (apparently, Brazil is replacing its citrus plants with sugarcane; gotta have those cereals loaded, eh!), drought in Spain and a frost in late spring 2005 in Hunan region and cold temperatures and several typhoons in Zhejiang province of China.

As one of the leading citrus exporter, Spain's citrus export (estimated 2.7 million tons) exceeds USA (899, 000 tons) - obviously, Spain sells much of what it produces. World's total citrus export was 9.3 million tons. With the recent economic developments, Russia is apparently becoming a major target market for citrus industry.

The Valencian oranges are not available here until the end of November or so. Before the local crop is available, Spain imports its citrus from South America and South Africa. Those oranges are nothing like the ones you pick from the trees now. I have not yet found one Valencian orange that is dry and tasteless.

Unfortunately, I also noticed the signs of abandoning smaller orange groves to be replaced by high-rises. On the other hand, I realize more trees are planted in the more commercialized fields. In any event, it seems like the Valencian oranges will be around here quite some time - luckily...

Bustling Little City

How is it possible that this little town with population of 50,000 can be so noisy? There is a constant traffic noise that relentlessly goes on day and night. No, I am not talking about the near highway experience here: it is Grau, a suburb Gandia. I can understand in the summer there are many tourists and night life, but in the winter time, with what are these people busy? Doesn't this town ever sleep? I will really appreciate the quietness of our surrounding when we go back home.

Some early morning sky scenes from our home - time: around 7:30 - 8:00 am.

Note the Mediterranean Sea

Dime!

I noticed that sales persons at the stores use this expression quite exclusively in this area. I cannot tell whether this is unique to the small towns in Spain because I only began to notice it recently. A worldreference.com forum thread explains it as "tell me." I don't think a shoe sales person will approach me with a "tell me" in USA. They would say "How can I help you?" or "Can I help you?"

Now, I am thinking if it is appropriate to address a customer as "tell me" for it sounds informal. However, in small towns of USA, I have heard people in service industry address their customers as "hon," which sounds equally informal but viewed as a form of affection and normal - even preferred by the locals.

This dilemma, encountered by a foreigner, actually represents one of many reasons why it is more efficient to learn and be proficient in a language in the country that it is spoken than taking a course at home. As grown ups, we tend to learn a new language by intellectualizing while the kids soak it up without comparing and questioning.

The spoken-language is closely tied to the culture and ad infinitum dynamic, where it never ceases to evolve. These cultural differences result in expressions in language and consequently in misunderstandings. Based on my own experiences, knowing many different cultures definitely opens one's horizons and improves his/her prospects...

Hasta la vista baby!

Two Last Names - Dos Apellidos

In America, I had not noticed the long Hispanic names. Ever since we arrived in Spain, I noticed that the Spanish people, without exception had very long names. I later learned that they actually didn’t have long names or middle names (sometimes they do of course); in fact, they have two last names!

In Spanish, the last name is called apellido, which actually means surname. So, since Spanish has two of them, they have apellidos like our good friend’s name: David Ferrairó Escriva.

The first surname is called apellido primero and comes from the father’s first surname and the second surname is called apellido Segundo that comes from the mother’s first surname (also mother’s maiden name for it comes from her dad).

When a woman gets married, her apellido primero remains the same but her apellido segundo becomes her husband’s apellido primero. Some instances, there maybe ‘de’ between the surnames to emphasize the marriage bond. No change happens to the men’s surnames due to marriage.

When the children are born, the same system is used to continue the cycle: if we use our friend, David, as example, here is what happens:

David Farrairó Escriva and Suni Perales Farrairó have a daughter Maria Farrairó Perales. When she gets married, she will lose the Perales and no one will know she was related to Suni just from the last name.

Shortly, the surname from the male side perpetuates but the female side eventually gets lost. Well, I say this is better system than we have where the identity of mother’s ancestry is lost at marriage and neither gender of the kids carry mother’s maiden surname. At least in Spanish model, until the female child gets married and the male child deceases, they are identified by both parents’ surnames. Wait a minute, they only inherent the mother’s father’s surname. So all the apellido primeros are male-related!

When asked, the Spanish people explained all of this so as a matter of fact, which made me feel even more stupid for frying my brain trying to comprehend the connections. Now that I figured it all out, it looks so obvious.

I don’t know how they are handled in Spanish speaking countries, but I can see the problems that this system might create with listing, sorting and storing names. Because the first surname seems to be more important, the second surname drop after marriage may create loss of information.