What I love about Spain are the traditions! As I was about to discover, the celebration of Las Fallas is a centuries-old tradition that's not to be missed. It's noisy and exciting and colorful and the costumes are unbelievably gorgeous!
On a warm day in late February, I walked around a corner in L'Eliana and saw beautiful girls wearing exquisite costumes gathered in the town square. Proud parents admired their daughters; the girls admired each other's gowns and perfect hair. Boys and young men were also dressed in costumes. I looked scruffy in my jeans, but I joined the crowd anyway. I had no idea what event this was, but I didn't want to miss anything. Several days later I learned these youth from L'Eliana were wearing traditional Valencian costumes in celebration of the upcoming Las Fallas event.
On a warm day in late February, I walked around a corner in L'Eliana and saw beautiful girls wearing exquisite costumes gathered in the town square. Proud parents admired their daughters; the girls admired each other's gowns and perfect hair. Boys and young men were also dressed in costumes. I looked scruffy in my jeans, but I joined the crowd anyway. I had no idea what event this was, but I didn't want to miss anything. Several days later I learned these youth from L'Eliana were wearing traditional Valencian costumes in celebration of the upcoming Las Fallas event.
Two young beauties wore ornate dresses of silk, lace and beadwork. Absolutely astounding! I wasn't sure how their hair was styled identically until I realized they were wearing hairpieces.
Girls just a few years older helped a younger girl adjust her necklace.
Of course a selfie is needed when you're dressed so beautifully!
Not everyone was happy about being dressed up for a parade.
Even little girls were dressed in finery fit for a queen. These cuties were about four years old.
The cluster of girls and boys moved into the street, the parents stepped back to the curbs, a band started to play, and a parade began. It wound its way through L'Eliana, stopping every few blocks where a short burst of fireworks was set off.
There were what appeared to be a king and a queen of this parade.
These lovely young women waited a few minutes when the parade stopped. I thought their gowns were particularly elegant and the hairpiece of one girl was very ornate.
Even the backs of the gowns were richly designed and decorated. The dresses are very expensive, ranging in cost from many hundreds to several thousand euros.
This young sweetheart already knew how to charm the crowd with her beauty pageant wave, and the young man was adorable in his costume. He had a bit of a pirate flair.
A few weeks after the parade in L'Eliana, the Las Fallas celebration began. There were many parades in Valencia with men and women dressed in traditional Valencian costumes. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the extraordinary regalia and being in the middle of this wonderful and exciting occasion!
