political, satirical, and just plain silly

The Ninots of Las Fallas are the giant paper-mache figures that are displayed all throughout the city. All of them will be burned in the Crema on Monday, except the 1 or 2 that are deemed the best by a group of judges.

It's definitely impossible to go around town visiting every single Ninot out there, but that's the beauty of Fallas. It's everywhere... not just in the city center but in every neighborhood.

Here's some of the blatantly political Ninots, with of course Rajoy, Merkel, and Sarkozy making apperances:






Something to keep in mind is that each Ninot has a main figure or group of figures in the center, and various scenes or smaller figures around it. The tough part is that all of the text is in Valenciano, so for many Ninots I didn't understand the point at all. For some, it's quite obvious what the point is and for others they tell a story that isn't blatantly political or critical.

I also enjoyed this Ninot quite much, which offered a criticism of Valencia:
the ubiquitous pertardos (firecrackers) that children play with, creating loud explosions and lots of smoke


the botellón which is where people bring their own alcohol and drink on the streets (happens all the time but especially during Fallas)


the street market (although I'm not quite sure what the criticism here is)


the dog poo that is found EVERYWHERE in the streets (definitely my biggest pet peeve about the city)


the construction projects that have been paused because of the crisis


There were a few Ninots related to China which caught my attention. This one somehow had some story about the marriage of China and Valencia... there's a Chinese girl with castanets and a flamenco panda. Rice, silk, and gunpower (aka firecrackers), which are very important in Valencian culture, all came from China! Silk and gunpowder are especially important during Fallas, since all of the Falleras wear huge elaborate dresses made of silk, and each day and night we see fireworks. There was also a Ninot about the Silk Road, and another about the Chinese in Valencia complete with 5 euro signs and Chinese restaurants.




This Ninot was called "Invasio oreintal a la placa del mercat"... which is basically Asian Invasion!


Here's one of the tallest Ninots I saw, in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Higher than 5-story buildings! There was a storyline of the process of creating a winning Ninot, from contracting the artist to the judges to the burning.



This Ninot, all about Leonardo Da Vinci, was so intense that they charged 2 euro for visitors to visit all parts of the Ninot and go up a ladder and see it up close. Very very impressive.



Here's the award-winning Infantil (mini-Ninot)


And here are some of the sillier Ninots.








It's really incredible how much detail and work goes into a Ninot. It's the combination of art, humor, and sometimes sheer size that makes each one unique. For example, in the last photo, there's a list of suggestions and one says "If your mom asks, tell her you're growing exotic plants."