1. Las Fallas, Valencia:
· Las Fallas is one of the more impressive festivals in Spain (Thyberg, n.d.)
· This event takes place each March in the Mediterranean city of Valencia (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The celebration lasts for a week and includes nonstop fireworks and noisy fanfare. Huge papier-mâché effigies satirizing Spanish and world celebrities fill the city's plazas, turning the town into a veritable wonderland (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The tradition started as a holiday to pay tribute to Saint Joseph, Valencia's patron saint (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Papier-mâché statues are burned (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The sculpture voted "best effigy" is the only one spared from the flames and is put on display in the town center (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The other hundreds of effigies blaze late into the night as teams of firefighters set up protective barriers and keep watch while the crowds continue their street parties (Thyberg, n.d.)
Food: Ø Bocata de blanc i negre: The unofficial official food of fallas. It is a sandwich that all the fallero tents cook for their members, which has “morcilla” (black pudding, a.k.a. blood sausage), “longaniza” (a white sausage) and a local Valencian variety of haba beans
Ø • Bunyols de carabassa: This seasonal fried pumpkin dough dessert, which is a typical street vendor snack (“churrería”) is a staple of fallas. (Many stands will offer churros, which are really from Madrid, but popular with the guiris (foreigners).) … and then there are the class Valencian dishes to try while there.
Ø • Paella (and all those other rice dishes): This is your chance to try it where it’s from, so go for it! • Hortxata: Valencia’s most famous local drink. This is a sweet milky white drink made from a bean plant.
Ø • “Agua de València”: Not really water. This local orange-juice infused cocktail, which is kind of like a mimosa, you’ll have to order at a bar.
2. Semana Santa and La Feria de Abril, Seville
· The southern city of Seville hosts two of the biggest celebrations of the year (Thyberg, n.d.)
· First is Semana Santa, a week of feasting and Roman Catholic processions leading up to Easter (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Holy Week in Seville features masked parades and enormous floats with Roman Catholic figures (Thyberg, n.d.)
· This somber spectacle is followed up by La Feria de Abril, a much more jolly event (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Hundreds of tents and amusement park rides are set up for Seville's week-long Feria (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The fairgrounds swell with locals dressed in traditional garb and booths selling libations and food (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Live music fills the night air, and a festive mood prevails (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Fireworks signal the final night of the celebration, sending the crowds into frenzied flamenco dancing (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Foods:
Ø Each caseta has a full bar and kitchen ("La Feria de Abril", 2006)
Ø To truly enjoy La Feria, one must be invited into a caseta for some Spanish tortilla and chorizo, jamón Ibérico, paté with raspberry jam and crackers, and rebujitos ("La Feria de Abril", 2006)
Ø Plenty of cured ham, sausage ("La Feria de Abril", 2006)
Ø Typical is seafood and lots of it ("La Feria de Abril", 2006)
Ø In the early morning after a night of drinking you'll likely see people gathered on the corner of the Triana Bridge eating churros & chocolate ("La Feria de Abril", 2006)
3. Fiesta de San Fermin, Pamplona
· La Fiesta de San Fermin is an iconic holiday that takes place in the northern town of Pamplona (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The festivities occur annually in mid-July (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The best-known aspect of the holiday is the Running of the Bulls, first made famous by Ernest Hemingway in "The Sun Also Rises." (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Thousands of locals and foreigners take to the streets each morning to sprint in front of a stampeding herd of bulls along a route leading to the city's bull ring (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The streets become treacherous, and the event is astounding to behold. Aside from this spectacle, the Fiesta de San Fermin includes parades, fireworks and bullfighting events (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Foods:
Ø The traditional Navarre dishes, such as bull stew, Ajoarriero (salt cod in tomato, garlic and pepper sauce), a good portion of fresh white beans, Chistorra (fresh garlic sausage), stuffed peppers, asparagus, and ham in tomato sauce, all cooked with fresh produce grown in the Navarre market gardens and the best meat, washed down with Navarre wine, which now enjoys international recognition ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014)
Ø Churros (long fried doughtnuts) and hot chocolate and select tapas ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014)
Ø Sandwhiches and signature tapas ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014)
Ø A day in the fiestas typically starts with a warming cup of hot Caldico (broth), made with veal and chicken and which is given out in front of the Town Hall at 6 am just before the Dianas (early morning reveille) ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
Ø After the bull run, runners and spectators alike get their strength back after the running and early morning rise with a cup of hot chocolate accompanied with Churros (long fried doughnuts) ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
Ø Snacks such as ham with tomato or fried eggs, Chistorra and peppers stuffed with cod ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
Ø Also popular are Cazuelicas (small earthenware dishes) of ham in tomato sauce, Ajoarriero or sweetbreads, as an appetizer ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
Ø The Meriendas or afternoon snack in the bullring, organised by the Peñas in the seats in the sun are a good example of the local homemade cuisine ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
Ø Hearty dishes such as fresh white beans, or lighter ones such as asparagus or mixed vegetables, followed by lamb sweetbreads, tuna in tomato sauce, trout with ham, ham with tomato, bull stew, lamb in pepper sauce, T bone steaks, hake fried in sizzling oil, lamb shanks ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
Ø For dessert, there are cheeses, junkets, cream horns, Roncal cheese, creamy custard, milk fritters or a type of sponge called Goshua made with confectioner's custard ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
Ø To end the meal, a good Pacharan (aniseed drink made with bilberries) which has digestive properties ("Las Fallas in Valencia", 2014).
4. La Tomatina, Buñol
· One of Spain's other major celebrations is La Tomatina, a "tomato war" held in the town of Buñol outside Valencia (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Tourists and locals gather on the last Wednesday of August each year to stage a tomato-chucking battle of epic proportions (Thyberg, n.d.)
· This event is part of a week-long festival in honor of Buñol's patron saint (Thyberg, n.d.)
· As with most other Spanish holidays, street parties and parades are customary (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Thousands of combatants take part in the final tomato war (Thyberg, n.d.)
· According to Frommer's, the actual food fight lasts for two hours (Thyberg, n.d.)
· The local government sponsors the event by sending in over 88,000 pounds of tomatoes to be used as ammunition (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Communal shower stations are set up around town for cleanup after the fun comes to an end (Thyberg, n.d.)
· Foods: Tomatoes