Falla monument

The monument usually deals with a satirical subject connected with recent news or public controversies, and is covered in posters with words, verses and statements of a humorous nature.

In the Llibre dels feits, it is stated that the troops of King James I of Aragon carried Fallas to light their way.

This technique allowed for the building of higher monuments and it has come down almost to the present day, where it is still used, especially for smaller ninots and fallas of lower budgets.

The step is to prepare a draft and perhaps a scale model which must be approved by the comisión fallera (a committee formed by a group of people who support or finance a falla in a neighborhood of Valencia) who hires the artist.

Though years ago they could use wire, currently these materials are prohibited by the Junta Central Fallera (which regulates and coordinates this festivity).

These new materials make the monuments lighter and the Falla artists can take risks to create bold and innovative forms.

Many people criticize these new materials, referred to as white cork, since the black smoke they give off during the burning of the monument means the combustion can't be seen clearly.

The Polytechnic University of Valencia carried out a study which seems to prove that, on the contrary, white cork is less polluting than the traditional materials.

[2] During the 80's, it was, above all, the Valencia City Hall Square Falla—formerly known as the Valencian Community Falla, it's the only one made entirely with public money and so, it doesn't participate in the official competition—that introduced a series of experimental changes.

The cartoonist Sento Llobell and the designer Francis Montesinos, who dressed up ninots, collaborated with the artist Manolo Martín.

From this period, we recall Fallas such as that which recreated the façade of the Valencia CIty Hall or the crane that excavated the ground, finding thousands of objects.