Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Antes de morir...

Sometime last year, I saw a TED Talk about an interactive community art project called "Before I die...".  The project consists of a wall covered with multiple lines of "Before I die I want to ____________".  Passersby can fill in the blanks with chalk, sharing their dreams with the community.

The project debuted in New Orleans, but has since spread and been recreated around the globe.  I was delighted to read the other week that Cassandra (@ Gee Casandra) saw a "Before I die" display in Malasaña, a neighborhood in Madrid.  Check out the pictures on her post.

While looking for pictures of the display in Madrid on the "Before I die..." website, I discovered that there was a display in La Latina from July - October 2012.  I might have walked past it without noticing!

Antes de morir...
Antes de morir...
Photographer: Antonio García

Antes de morir... Madrid, Spain
Antes de morir...
Photographer: Alberto Vizcaíno


Antes de morir... in Madrid, Spain
Antes de morir quiero...
Photographer; Alberto Vizcaíno

The display that Cassandra saw more recently has since been taken down, but seeing the pictures reminded me of the Inside Out project I saw in Madrid last fall, inspired by TED Talk award winner JR.  As I've said before, this is just one of the many perks of living in a cultural and vibrant city like Madrid.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Las Fallas 2012: The burning (Cremà)

Today is the last day of las Fallas in Valencia.  Last year when I went to las Fallas, I couldn't stay to celebrate the last day of the festival because I had to work.  The last day is significant; it's when they burn all of the gorgeous, expensive sculptures that artists spent all year making (it's called the Cremà).

So I don't have any photos of the Cremà, but I found some youtube clips.  Here's the burning of Da Vinci, one of my favorite fallas in 2012:





Here's another video of the burning of a Falla in Valencia in 2012:



Have you ever seen the Cremà at las Fallas?  What did you think?

Monday, March 18, 2013

Las fallas 2012: The funniest sculptures

Today is day four of Las Fallas in Valencia.  Last year I had two favorite fallas overall, but there were lots of funny fallas that I appreciated as well.

Not sure what the heck a falla is? Check out this post first.

Probably the funniest falla in 2012 was the one where a woman was waxing a man's crotch.  Take a look for yourself to see what went wrong:

Funniest falla in Valencia 2012


Here's a closeup:

Funniest falla in Valencia 2012


Here are some more fallas from 2012 that brought smiles to many peoples'  faces:

Funny falla in 2012, Valencia

Funny falla in 2012, Valencia

Funny falla in 2012, Valencia

Fumar mata (menos a Fidel)

Close up:
Fumar mata (menos a Fidel)
Fumar Mata (menys a Fidel)
Smoking kills (Everyone except Fidel)

And last but not least, it's not really funny like the others, but here's how the USA was represented in a falla:
USA
Las fallas 2012, Valencia 

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Las fallas 2012: My two favorite fallas

Today is the second day of Las Fallas in Valencia, which goes until March 19.  If you don't know anything about the fallas sculptures on display in Valencia during this festival, take a quick look at this post.

There were two fallas last year that really stuck out to me as favorites:

1. Da Vinci


Da Vinci Falla: Valencia 2012
Da Vinci
Las Fallas 2012: Valencia, Spain


Da Vinci
Las Fallas 2012: Valencia, Spain

Da Vinci Falla: Valencia 2012
Da Vinci falla, 2012 Valencia
Source: Matthias Oesterle

And here's a model of the falla that was on display near the real thing:

Model of the Da Vinci falla
2012, Valencia


2. Flower Fairies


I'm not sure the actual name of this one (nor the Da Vinci one above), but I've named it "flower fairies".

Fairy falla 2012, Valencia


Flower fairies falla, Valencia 2012
Flower fairies falla
Las Fallas 2012, Valencia

Flower fairies falla, Valencia 2012
Flower Fairy
Las Fallas 2012, Valencia

And here's a picture of the falla taken by a pro during the daylight:

Las Fallas 2012, Valencia
Source

Friday, March 15, 2013

Las fallas 2012: Light show

Today begins Las Fallas in Valencia; the celebration will continue through the 19th of March.  Last year at this time I was at Las Fallas with Gregorio.

Around the streets of Valencia during Las Fallas, there are light displays.  Many of these light displays have "shows"  every half hour or hour.  Here are some pictures from one of the light shows, which was accompanied by music:

Las fallas Valencia light show

Light show at Las Fallas, Valencia

Light show at Las Fallas, Valencia

Light show at Las Fallas, Valencia

Light show at Las Fallas, Valencia

Light show at Las Fallas, Valencia

Light show at Las Fallas, Valencia


And here was a different light display with the Eiffel Tower (well, not the Eiffel Tower... an Eiffel Tower):

Eiffel tower light show at Las Fallas, Valencia