Berta Peiró and Lucía García emphasize that the flood «has not taken away our love for the Fallas»: «Here we are to rise again»
The falleras mayores of València, Berta Peiró and Lucía García, have called this Sunday to «ignite the flame» of the Fallas 2025 during the ‘Crida’ event held at the Torres de Serranos, with a message «of hope» and a tribute to the towns affected by the storm and also «to the world»: «Do not forget València, the city of infinite solidarity. Here we are to rise again».
The protocol event started at 8:00 p.m., after a previous show. However, hours earlier, thousands of people gathered in front of the Torres de Serranos to await the start of the event that marks the beginning of the festivities every year.
Around 7:15 p.m., various authorities started to arrive, including the mayor of València, María José Catalá. Minutes later, the falleras mayores of València and their courts of honor arrived, waiting under the Torres to watch the previous show on a screen.
Shortly before 8:00 p.m., they began to climb to the platform. At that moment, the protocol part of the event began, where the mayor handed the keys of the city to the falleras mayores.
The fallera mayor of València, Berta Peiró, started her speech by remembering the regions of the Valencian Community affected by the storm, in «one of the most difficult years for our land,» she emphasized. Despite this, she valued that the flood «has not taken away our love for the Fallas».
On the other hand, the fallera mayor infantil, Lucía García, sent «all the strength» of the Valencian fallero world to the people affected by the storm, sending them «a message of hope»: «The sun always shines again, just like the fire always returns to our Fallas».
Meanwhile, the mayor of València, María José Catalá, praised Peiró and García as «ambassadors» of an Intangible Cultural Heritage festival, pointing out, before handing them the keys to the city, that these keys «also belong» to the districts of València and the towns in the province affected by the floods. «We open our hearts to the falleros of other towns, today and during the Offering. These Fallas, more than ever, we have to be ‘cap i casal’,» she emphasized.
SHOW
The ‘Crida’ has reformulated its format this year with a focus on a «100% Valencian» show with professional singers, traditional dance, aerial acrobats, pyrotechnics, and a choir –replacing the usual digital projections– dedicated to «the ability of the Valencian people to recover from adversity».
Under the motto ‘Despertant els nostres cors’, words taken from the regional anthem, the proposal has been «a great bet on Valencian talent» with the participation of artists Lorena Calero and Gonzalo Manglano, who have given voice to the pasodoble ‘El Fallero’ along with 30 members of the Escolanía de la Virgen, while voice actress Pilar Martínez has «for the first time» voiced the emblematic Torres.
This February 23, «the Fallas anthem» has sounded again, but this time with arrangements by Kike Soriano. On the other hand, the singer from Mislata Lorena Calero has brought «soul and voice» to the show from the upper terrace of the Torres de Serranos, at the feet of the Senyera, accompanied by the tenor and Valencian composer Gonzalo Manglano, a member of the Melomans quartet.
They have been joined by thirty members of the Escolanía de la Virgen de los Desamparados under the baton of their director, Luis Garrido, and the folk group Les Folies de Carcaixent, with members from more than a dozen municipalities affected by the storm on October 29th.
They have all recreated «a journey through time through the history of the Fallas and art» as a ‘tableau vivant’ with «iconic» photos of the festival and paintings by Pinazo. The show concluded with a final musical number that paid homage to the 80th anniversary of the Offering and the 140th anniversary of the first falla llibret by Bernat i Baldoví.
In parallel, the eight members of the Sylphes Aerial Ballet ensemble have flown over the audience at the Torres de Serranos with their aerial choreographies in a «technical and artistic challenge choreographed ad hoc» for the ‘Crida’. This show was joined by the voice of the award-winning Valencian voice actress Pilar Martínez, tasked with «voicing» the Torres, who «humanized» this medieval construction «with centuries of history that serves as a backdrop» for the event welcoming the festivities.
The Municipal Symphonic Band entertained with fallero pasodobles in the minutes leading up to the start of the show, starting at 7:00 p.m. The musicians and teachers occupied «a prominent place» integrated into the structure of the main platform and performed live the anthems to ceremonially conclude the event before the fireworks display by Pirotecnia Peñarroja.
