Joining the ranks amongst Spain’s internationally recognized calendar of events is Valencia’s Fallas festival, a weeklong celebration of Saint Joseph replete with synchronized explosives, fireworks shows, parades, and satirically-themed papier-mâché sculptures that reach five stories tall.

Las Fallas is a grand excuse for activities otherwise prohibited in the city. The festival concludes in a fiery and ceremonial burning of those very same sculptures scattered throughout the city.

Regardless of its intent, however, Las Fallas is ultimately another superlative case of what Spain does better than the rest of us: conviviality.

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