Fire, Flowers, and Franquismo: Self-Commemoration of the Valencian Identity in the Fallas Festival (1939-2023)

Abstract

I examine the cultural significance of the Fallas Festival in Valencia, Spain and how Valencians annually deconstruct and reconstruct their collective identity through the festival. Valencian culture and festivities experienced suppression by Francisco Franco’s regime from 1939-1975. However, the Fallas remain a longstanding tradition for Valencians that relates to pagan celebrations for the arrival of spring and for remembering St. Joseph. I explore the ways in which Valencian regional identity and collective memory are constructed and represented in the Fallas as a form of self-commemoration. I address primary sources of the fire burning festival including photos of the ninots (the flower offering, and the cremà) to showcase how Fallera commissions and funders construct the dominant Valencian identity. This study also addresses important ramifications of the dominant Valencian identity shared in the Fallas, such as the shaping of women’s roles in the Fallas and regional identity politics with neighboring communities. Overall, this project analyzes the Fallas Festival as a unique representation of Valencian identity and what it means to “be Valencian” in modern Spain as a form of self-commemoration through festivity and celebration of their traditional culture.