Jordi Ferrer | València (EFE).- A young pyrotechnician of only 19 years old, Manuel Crespo, has put the finishing touch to the fallas ritual of the mascletà this Sunday, March 19, in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento de València with a colorful and rhythmic shot that has maddened the tens of thousands of people who thronged the entire area.
Under a blue sky and spring temperatures, the last mascletà of the Fallas 2023 has been carried out by Pirotecnia Valenciana, from Llanera de Ranes (Valencia), founded in 1965, which has used a total of 253 kilos of pyrotechnic material; The father of that young man -who is already the manager of the company-, José Manuel Crespo, designed and shot his first mascletà in that same square when he was only 17 years old.
After a first aerial phase full of effects and that has dyed the sky of Valencia with the red, yellow and blue of the senyera, a series of ground retentions has been given, which have gone with an “in crescendo” rhythm. and have ended with a powerful earth quake.
Valencian Pyrotechnics, in charge of opening and closing these festivities with the fireworks display of the crida (Sunday, February 26) and tonight’s cremà, has surprised the thousands of attendees with a powerful aerial finale that has made the audience rumble. square, and has achieved a great ovation.
“The mascletà has turned out as we expected”
“It has turned out what we expected. A Valencian mascletà ”, the young pyrotechnician proudly stated after the shot, which was witnessed by some older falleras full of tears, because they know that tonight they will put an end to his reign.
From the balcony of the City Hall, the ministers of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, and of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, as well as the president of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, have enjoyed this last mascletà of the Fallas of 2023. mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribó, and PP deputy secretaries Borja Sémper and Esteban González Pons.
The singer Blanca Paloma, Spanish representative for the Eurovision festival, among other political leaders and the world of fallas, has also attended.
According to the Red Cross report, this mascletà has left a total of 47 attentions (26 due to fainting) and three evacuations (one due to heart disease, another due to trauma and abdominal pain).
Political truce and the Eurovision “Ea, ea” on the balcony of the last mascletà
The balcony of the Valencia City Hall has once again brought together politicians from all over the parliamentary rainbow this Sunday, when the fallas festival is closed, who have distributed hugs and kisses without noticing their party card and have been photographed with the Spanish representative in Eurovision, the from Elche, Blanca Paloma, who has launched her ‘Ea, ea’ to those present.
Thus, everyone has witnessed a traditional Valencian mascletà that has not lacked detail, from the colors of the senyera at the beginning, to a meritorious display of rhythm and flashes at medium height, with the difficulty that the use of color entails in the firework displays in broad daylight.
In addition, the tradition of the last day of mascletà has not been lacking, nor have the tears on the faces of the older falleras, which hasten the last hours of their reign, nor the bittersweet sensation of the obligatory wait to see such a spectacle again.
Although Valencia possibly experienced its most crowded day this Saturday, the city center continues to be especially congested and this Monday’s festivity in Madrid will allow many to discover one of the most intimate parts of the Fallas festival, such as the cremà.
Sémper, Morant, Olona, Minister Escrivá and… Blanca Paloma in the mascletà
This is the case of the deputy secretary of the PP Borja Sémper, who this Sunday has repeated on the town hall balcony with his partner, the actress Bárbara Goenaga, and their children, the eldest of whom has witnessed the mascletà hardly flinching on the shoulders of what was possibly the tallest politician on the balcony, Esteban González Pons.
On the other hand, the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, also repeated that, after parading this Saturday with her commission in the Offering of her native Gandia (one of the municipalities of the Valencian Community that also celebrates its Fallas), this Sunday He wore a pink blouse, together with the vice mayor and socialist candidate, Sandra Gómez, and the government delegate, Pilar Bernabé.
The Minister of Social Security and Migrations, José Luis Escrivá, whose father was from Alicante, vaguely remembered having been in a mascletà at some point in his life, but never from the town hall balcony, a place that has impressed him, as he has admitted.
Queue to greet the Spanish representative in Eurovision
Blanca Paloma, from Elche, who will represent Spain in the next edition of Eurovision, on May 13 in Liverpool, has taken over one of the corners of the balcony and has not needed to move to greet those present, who have practically queued up to greet her Between a hug and a kiss, she raised a hand in the air to greet and gain strength, as she explained, to take her ‘Ea, ea’ to the top.
Another of the moments that has gathered the most attention has been the meeting, with a kiss included, between the former deputy of Vox Macarena Olona -invited by a Valencian councilor from this formation, Vicente Montañez- and the mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribó, of Compromís.
True to her transgressive character, Olona has explained without blinking and from the town hall balcony that she is more rice than paella, specifically rice from Pinoso (Alicante). Immediately afterwards, she has recognized that in the matter of the mascletaes, Valencia is unbeatable and has been impressed when she leaned out of the watchtower of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento