Interview with Matthew 2/4

This is the second interview with matthew:

Matthew's experience in mascletas

Hey, today we are going to speak with Matthew about his experience in the ''mascletas'', a ''mascleta'' is an activity which consists in throw fireworks at the 2:00 pm.

Matthew told us that the mascletas was one of the most impressive things about last Fallas, he went to 5 or 6 mascletas during the month and his favourite one was the vulcano mascleta because of the wonderful colours. Is the first time that he heard something that loud, it was like a wall of noise and everyday he can hear it from his flat because of the power of mascleta.

He would have liked to see the mascletas in Alzira, but he need to wait until next year. Everyday at 2 o'clock the Plaza del Ayuntamiento filled up completely so sometimes was difficult to go home at this time.

Here we have an image of vulcano mascleta:

Best Fallas 2017

These are the fallas winners this year.

1. l'Antiga de Campanar

2. El Pilar

3. Cuba

Fallas night life

The casales is one of the most popular things of fallas, is a place where we meet, dine and dance, are trhee nights where we party.

    
The Matthew s like most about fallas was streets party and his favourite night of the wekend was whem we went to the street party at the central market.
Another aspect of fallas night life is seeing the lights of Ruzafa. His found the lights of calle cuba the most impressive 

FALLAS - La Cremà

The cremà is the act of setting fire to the monuments of cardboard or wood (called faults or bonfires) during the celebrations of several localities of the Valencian Community (Spain), especially the Fouls celebrated in Valencia and the Hogueras de San Juan held in Alicante. With the burning of the monuments, the party is concluded and closed.

 

The cremà of the failures of Valencia and other localities of the zone is celebrated the night of the 19 of March, day of San José. It consists of the burning of the fallero monuments planted in the streets of Valencia on March 15. The act is preceded by a castle of fireworks, ignited by the greater fallera of the commission. First, around ten o'clock at night, the children's monuments are burned except for the "failure" of the first prize of the special section that burns at ten-thirty and of the municipal children's fault in The Town Hall Square that burns at eleven. 

Subsequently, the main monuments are burned at midnight and at 12:30 the first prize of the special section of this category is burned. And finally, at one o'clock in the morning, the fallero monument of the "Plaza del Ayuntamiento" is burned,which is out of competition.

FALLAS - Fallas' awards

On the night of Thursday,  January 18th, the El Clavell awards in its first edition were held and organized by the North Failure Commission - Dr. Zamenhoff. A prize for people or groups that have stood out for their work, eagerness, sincere dedication and contribution to the world of failures.

The awards ceremony was presided over by the Virgen de los Desamparados, donated for the occasion by the Brotherhood of the Virgen del Barrio, and of course, by the representatives of the Commission: Claudia Rubio and Aida Piñeiro, Fallera Mayor Infantil and Fallera Mayor, and Óscar Herranz and Juan José Morant, Infantile President and President.

FALLAS - Plantà

After the election of the fallera major of Valencia 2017 and the Crida where the fallera major invites the citizens and rest of the world to fail - one of the important events is the Plantà of 15 and 16 March. 

La plantà marks the beginning of the fallas week. The artists have been keeping their monuments throughout the year, and it is along this day when they leave the workshop and finally see the light.

Early in the morning of March 15, the children's faults must already be in place, already That the Central Junta Fallera jury, runs through the streets of Valencia in search of child failure because the big ones still have time until 12 at night. 

One of the most awaited moments for all fallers is the plant. In it, the artist fallero helped by the most workers of the fallera commission, finish mounting the monument and decorate it so that it is nice and convince the jury to give a prize.

Plantà falla valencia

FALLAS - Music of Fallas

Music is very important in Las Fallas. Almost all day you can listen to music bands in the streets of Valencia and other places where the party is celebrated, playing both traditional pieces and versions of pop songs.

The fallas that organize a "despertà", usually count on musicians to accompany the falleros in such an early morning activity; In the parades that take place in the morning too; And in other acts, such as the collection of prizes or the "ofrena de flors", can not miss either. Its always common to hear music, one can listen to the traditional instruments "tabal and dolçaina"

There are a typical fallas music, her name is pasodoble.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZHtua5oif8&t=52s

This are a pasacalle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d30miIQIwyw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNQfgAw5r5w

This is a charanga, charanga is a little group of musicians.Which hires them a falla and plays for them during all fallas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-isAjTm_pI

This hymn is titled "el fallero" and they play it when it burns the falla.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIKSERBk0e8 

This is a video of "tabal i dolçaina"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuQH7H93IeM 

This is a "despertà"That is that the falleros are throwing rockets, accompanied by music and thus wake the people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKjEOEscljI

FALLAS - Tradicional dress

The traditional costume of Valencian woman, already dressed before faults appear as a party, has a long tradition in history.

It appeared in the eighteenth century and began as a work outfit for the Valencian labradors, but with the passage of time it was transformed, and led to a more elegant dress that was used on special occasions.

How much does a suit cost?
 

As for adults, it is more or less from a minimum of 2,000 euros to unimaginable maximums, since there are occasions when they exceed 12,000 euros.

Starting at the feet, the fallera dresses with shoes lined with cloth, usually the same as the costume. The legs are covered with silk or cotton stockings, draped and embroidered with various motifs. Above, the petticoats, which is underwear that is placed under the skirt; Usually, to this garment is added a hollow to make the skirt have more volume

Above it is placed the apron, which is embroidered in gold or silver thread forming striking patterns.

As for the top of the suit, the piece of underwear is the shirt or chambra, since until the beginning of the twentieth century did not begin to wear underwear as we know it today. Above it is placed the bodice, which is usually made with the same fabric as the skirt. There are two different styles: the eighteenth century and the nineteenth century.

 

    

The jewels:

The jewels of fallera can cost, at least about 200 euros and the most expensive can cost around 600 or 700 euros.

    

Suits for boys:

There are usually cheaper because they do not have to waar jewerlly and wear less cloth in their costumes. the cheapest ones are around 300 or 400 euros. 

 

FALLAS - Cabalgata del Ninot

I'm going to explain "Cabalgata del Ninot"

The "Cabalgata del Ninot" (in Valencia) is in 11 of march and takes part place on a weekend near the beginning of the fallera itself. IN it, different commissions of exponential failure, in their cavalcade, a social, political or sporting theme local or regional character. The cromades, figures and floats of each commission lampoon or criticize its theme, as if it were an itinerant fault and with "humanized" ninots.

After the parade through the center of the city, a jury named a prize effect to the best commission, with different prizes as the best figure, a better final composition or the best comparsa.

The children also had their own Ninot Child Riding, which followed the same standards of performance as the older ones, but since 2012 they have unified the two cabins into one. 

 

 

FALLAS - Mascletà

A mascletá is a pyrotechnic event characterized by the achievement of a noisy and rhythmic composition that features, particularly during daytime, in street festivities; it is typical of the Valencian Community (Spain). It gets its name from themasclets (very loud firecrackers) that are tied by a wick to form a line or firework display. These are usually fastened at a medium height with ropes or raised by cannon

Mascletà in Alzira(Av. Santos Patronos)

Preparing Mascletà

1ª Mascletà 2017

 

Mascleta 360º

FALLAS - Crida

Today I will explain briefly the Crida.

Crida is the act in which the Fallera Major of Valencia announces the beginning of Fallas. All the fallas go to the crida to hear the speech of the Fallera Major. Here in Alzira the act of the crida is celebrated in front of the town hall. The crida is celebrated on the 4th of March usually from 7 to 8:30 pm. This year the Fallas has been awarded UNESCO Human Heritage.

Tips & Musts in London

You can visit a place called Neal’s Yard. It is a secluded courtyard where you can find some original London shops. As well as a variety of artisan cafes and restaurants. It is often a lot quieter and less touristy than other shopping centers in London. It is where the famous British shops Neal’s Yard Remedies originates from.

A nice corner of hyde park where you can find local people reading their poetry and literature out loud. Even though the speakers were usually not famous, speaker’s corner was visited by Marx, Lenin, Orwell and other legendary figures. Here you can have a nice rest.

Another place to visit it’s the Rough Trade in South-East London. Rough Trade is a famous music store where you can find thousands of vinyl records. In the past Rough Trade was a record label but now is just shops. There are 3 Rough Trade shops in the world, 1 in london 1 in Nottingham and 1 in New York. Their host lots of live performances by famous artists.

Finally, we have to visit the Tate Modern Viewing Platform, at the top of this famous arts gallery there’s a viewing points which offers breath-taking views over London. The best thing about this place is that you can access by free and there are never any queues unlike the London Eye. While you are there you should visit the gallery and enjoy some excellent modern art exhibitions.

Another place to visit is the Abbey Road where the Beatles take his famous photo for his ‘’Abbey Road’’ album.

The summer is the best season to visit London because there are a lot of nice bars and outside places, there are also a lot of nice places to relax along the river. In the summer there are important festivals and concerts.

London Music scene

Swinging London

It was not until the 1960s that London experienced a radical change in the field of the arts, especially in the music scene. This era is known by the English term Swinging London (swinging with the sense of the expression to the fashion), which applies generally not only to the revolution in the field of the music, but to the changes in the Fashion and culture that flourished after the 60's. This phenomenon was mainly aimed at youth.

At that time great bands of the international musical panorama formed like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Small Faces and The Kinks, among many others.

The Beatles in particular revolutionized popular London music, especially from the recording of their album Abbey Road and his famous photograph of the cover of the same crossing the pedestrian crossing of this street.

For their part, the Rolling Stones were also consecrated among the greatest of international rock. His début took place in the Ealing Club and his first concert was in 1962.

El brit-pop

In the 1970s and 1980s, bands such as The Animals, Blind Faith, The Who and Eric Clapton, the latter from the outskirts Londoners.

Led Zeppelin, Queen, Sex Pistols and The Police, among many others, are equally remarkable. Also a handful of soloists of London origin were made a hole in the international musical panorama: Cat Stevens, Marianne Faithfull and David Bowie, this last original one of Brixton.

Already in the time of the 90s, emerged what is known as the Brit-pop movement (abbreviation of British pop, which means British pop) with groups of the likes of Oasis and Suede. Both bands show a clear orientation towards the absence of pop guitar during the sixties and seventies.

Today, many musical genres have a place in the music scene coming from London. Of course, alternative rock, indie and pop keep their roots alive thanks to bands like Coldplay. But many styles of international origin ranging from soul or hip hop to folk-rock, among others, have also arrived in the British capital.

Consecration of alternative rock and indie

At present, several are alternative rock groups that have made the legacy of the groups mentioned above last in our day. We spoke, first of all, of the group Coldplay, led by Chris Martin, born in Exeter, Devon, England. Martin and his band define themselves as a group of melodic rockers. Their début took place in 1998 thanks to the album Parachutes, that saw the light in 2000. In summary, Coldplay are today one of the most important London rock bands internationally.

Also the band Kasabian deserves a special mention within the musical panorama London. Originating in the county of Leicestershire, in Leicester, England. Kasabian are an alternative rock band of British origin composed by Tom Meighan (vocalist), Sergio Pizzorno (guitarist and chorus player) and Chris Edwards (bass player). Since its debut in 2004, the band has been on numerous occasions compared to Oasis, among other alternative rock bands.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the arrival of immigrants of Asian origin to the British capital, London has had occasion to know the musical style of these countries thanks to artists such as Talvin Singh and Natin Sawhney, both famous for mixing the dance style with music Hindu.

 

Variety of styles
 The London of today is a city turned into one of the main centers worldwide for the musical creation.Thanks to artists like Adele, from Tottenham, London has been influenced by soul music mixed with British pop.Adele has established herself as one of the most popular British soloists internationally since her debut album 21, which remained for 10 consecutive weeks in the United States charts with hits such as Rolling in the Deep or Someone Like You.The current dubstep style, inherited from the genre of electronic music called grime, is also very popular in England.

This style was born as an autochthonous London musical genre that was born in the East End. In reality, this style is the result of fusing hip hop, drum 'n' bass and British garage music. Artists like Dizzee Rascal, Lethal Bizzle, Deep Roll, Lady Sovereign, GoldieLocks and Kano.As for music bands, Muse, One Direction, Arctic Monkeys, etc. stand out. 

London-based folk-rock group Mumford & Sons has also made a breakthrough in the international music scene, as has London rapper Tinie Tempah or Jessie Ware.During the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, a review was made of the last 50 years of British musical tradition. In it, large groups of the pop-rock revolution were mentioned that we have already mentioned previously like The Beatles, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie. There was also no special tribute to John Lennon, a founding member of The Beatles.

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rockband, formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era.[1] Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as the group's music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s.

The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960, with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player. The core of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them.

The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act.

Abbey Road - album and artword set in London. Abbey Road Studios where the album was produced.The Beatles made Abbey Road one of the mythical places of their musical career when they photographed themselves across this street in 1969. But many of the group's followers - and not so followers - with the intention of photographing themselves in the famous zebra crossing, end up getting to the wrong Abbey Road, and this is because in London there are at least 11 streets with this name. The real Abbey Road is between Camden and Westminster.

Scan the QR Code to see what music is being played in London at the moment:

Alternative Markets in London

In London they have some places beautiful to visit. We are going to nominate and describe some famous places.

Camden Market

The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets in Camden Town often collectively named "Camden Market" or "Camden Lock". Among products sold on the stalls are crafts, clothing, bric-a-brac, and fast food. It is the fourth-most popular visitor attraction in London, attracting approximately 100,000 people each weekend.

The markets, originally temporary stalls only, extended to a mixture of stalls and fixed premises. The traditional Inverness Street market started losing stalls once local supermarkets opened; by mid-2013 all the original stalls had gone, being replaced by stalls similar to those of the other markets, including fast food but not produce.

 

        

Borough Market

The retail market operates on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 5pm, Fridays from 10am to 6pm, and Saturdays from 8 am to 5 pm. The wholesale market operates on all weekday mornings from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.

The present market, located on Southwark Street and Borough High Street just south of Southwark Cathedral on the southern end of London Bridge, is a successor to one that originally adjoined the end of London Bridge.he we can find a variety of fresh food products. such as fish and range of dairy products.

     
   
 

Portobello Road Market

This market is a famous antiques market located in London’s east end it is also famous for its flowers and street food.Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's notable street markets, known for its second-hand clothes and antiques. Every August since 1996, the Portobello Film Festival has been held in locations around Portobello Road.

    
   
                 

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district of London, England, located in the eastern part of the city of Westminster and in the southwest corner of the London borough of Camden. The area is dominated by shops, street entertainers and various entertainment elements and contains an entrance to the Royal Opera House, which is commonly known as "Covent Garden" because of its location and the busy Seven Dials area.

High Holborn to the north, Kingsway to the east, Strand to the south and Charing Cross to the west. The "Covent Garden Piazza" is located in the geographical center and was the site of a flower, vegetable and fruit market between 1500 and 1974, when the market was moved to the New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms. Nearby areas include Soho, St James's, Bloomsbury & Holborn.