They say that traditions are only kept alive if they are celebrated year after year by the people of the territory themselves as a fact of their own and not simply as a legacy of the past. The festival of the Fallas has long been a tradition rooted in the villages of the Vall de Boí.
Every year, previously with the beginning of the summer solstice, currently coinciding with the main festival, the peoples of the valley suffer the faults.
A festival related to the worship of the sun, thanking the gods for the harvests received and scaring away evil spirits.
WHAT ARE FAULTS?
The Fallas are a torch made of resinous wood about two meters long, which is made of pieces of pine tile glued to an ash stick with wires and tips. There are also a variety of faults made in a single piece of pine worked so that it burns strongly, they are called Rantiners .
HOW IS THE PARTY?
The party begins a few days before with the elaboration of the fallas and rantiners, in which the boys and girls of the village work to prepare them and let them dry a little.
On the day of the Fallas, everything starts at the lighthouse, an elevated place in the mountains, usually with a very good view of the village where a pine tree and other trees are planted to get a bonfire. From this point is where the faults light up before the descent begins.
The fallaires, after dinner and when it is very dark, light the lighthouse, and with it their fallas, they make the descent proud to carry the fire to the village with one of the boys in front, until they reach the square, where the people he receives them with joy, music and party, a big bonfire is made with the remains of fallas and rantiners that have resisted the descent and the party begins that can last all night.
