Exploring the world, three months at a time
The Fallas of 2021 is probably the weirdest Fallas of all; not only because it happened during the month of September, during a pandemic, but also because all of the Falleras and Falleros were wearing masks while marching in the big parades through Valencia.
The Plantà of Fallas, when monuments are erected throughout the city, is already in its final stages. Valencians are accustomed to having their streets taken over by the massive, colorful statues, but usually it's in March.
Fair warning, I have to admit that I'm obsessed with this Fallas figure by Valencian street artist Escif. It began when I saw the original sketches for the figure commissioned by the city of Valencia, for Fallas 2020.
I was only in Barcelona for ten hours, during a recent trip to take care of some paperwork, but couldn't resist the opportunity to check out the Sagrada Familia. This was my first visit to one of the world's most remarkable buildings, which is faintly embarrassing, having lived in nearby Valencia for so long
I few days ago, I spent ten hours in Barcelona. The main reason was to take care of some paperwork, but I decided to combine this administrative task with some fun as well. So if you find yourself with time to kill in Barcelona, this post is for you.
Fallas in the summer is something that's never happened before (as far as we know), and to get into the spirit, we went to the 2021 Ninot Exhibit, held at the Marina.
We decided to get in touch with Fallas artist Vicente Domínguez, in advance, and ask if we could stop by his workshop.
We drove out of the city, across the border separating Valencia and Castilla - La Mancha, and into Almansa. As we pulled up to his house, our old greeted us with a huge smile on his face.
Hot on the heels of the pedestrianization of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, the city has fast-tracked redesigns of two of the city's most iconic areas: the Plaza de la Reina, and the area around the Mercado Central.
Agente Naranja (Agent Orange) is the title of an art exhibition being shown at the Centro Cultural Carmen, by Edel Rodríguez. With bright colors, simple shapes, and merciless point-of-view, the Cuban-American artist reflects on the Trump presidency. The exhibition is brutal ... though, one could argue, perhaps not as brutal as four years of Trump.