The Valencian Pyrotechnics has been in charge of putting the finishing touch to the Fallas of 2023 with the shooting this Sunday, Saint Joseph’s Day, of a “brutal” ‘mascletà’, weighing 260 kilos, which has filled the Town Hall square with color From Valencia. “We came to leave the flag very high on March 19,” stressed its creator, José Manuel Crespo.
Crespo has highlighted, in statements to Europa Press, that, in his opinion, this latest ‘mascletà’ has been “very good” because “everything has gone according to plan”. In addition, he has stressed that “it is the people who put the note” and has considered that the public “has liked it and has responded very well”.
“We came to leave the pavilion very high on March 19 and I think we have achieved it due to the response of the people,” said the manager of the pyrotechnic company after the end of the show. It is the second time that Pirotecnia Valenciana has fired on the last day of the festivities, according to Crespo.
In this sense, the creator of the fireworks show -who shot this Sunday accompanied by his 19-year-old son, Manolo Crespo- has highlighted that holding the ‘mascletà’ on the last day of Fallas generates “pride, nervousness and responsibility, of all a little.” “We’re doing well and now we’re going for the third”, he stated.
This ‘mascletà’, which has had 260 kilos of gunpowder, has been designed with a first digitized aerial phase full of color effects, green, red and yellow, culminating in a resounding blow. Next, they have followed a series of land retentions with an ‘in crescendo’ rhythm and, after the fifth, the public has gone crazy with a “spectacular” land earthquake.
The firm from Llanera de Ranes (Valencia) has said goodbye to the ‘cathedral of gunpowder’ with an “original” closure with a digitized aerial.
The main balcony of the Town Hall this Sunday was attended by the ‘president’ of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig; the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant; the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, José Luis Escrivá; the Government delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé; the Chilean ambassador, Javier Velasco Villegas; the dean of the Consular Corps of Valencia and consul of Chile, Leopoldo López; the Minister of Justice, Interior and Public Administration, Gabriela Bravo, and the Trustee of Compromís in Les Corts, Papi Robles.
Likewise, the spokesperson of the PP Campaign Committee and Deputy Secretary of Culture, Borja Sémper, attended; the institutional vice-secretary, Esteban González Pons; the president of the PPCV, Carlos Mazón; the spokesperson of the PP in Les Corts, María José Catalá; the mayor of Manresa, Marc Alcoy; the mayor of Burgos, Daniel de la Rosa; the councilor for Festejos of the Burgos town hall, Blanca Carpintero; representatives of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation; artists of the Children’s Falla; the maintainer of the Fallera Mayor Infantil, the representative of Spain in Eurovision 2023, Blanca Paloma.
Once again, the queens of the Fiestas de Burgos, the belleas del foc de Alicante and the queens of the Huerta de Murcia have witnessed the ‘mascletà’ from the main balcony of the Town Hall as guests.
For their part, the Fallera Mayor, Laura Mengó, and the Children’s Fallera Mayor, Paula Nieto, lived this Sunday their last ‘mascletà’ as the main representatives of the Josephine fiestas of 2023.
After the shot, which they watched visibly moved through tears, Laura Mengó highlighted, in statements to Europa Press, that the ‘mascletà’ on March 19 has been “unforgettable” because it “puts an end to a wonderful cycle”. “It has been a unique experience and I am very proud to have been able to live it as the highest representative of the party”, she has expressed.
Thus, he has assured that this will be “an unforgettable year”, of “many emotions” and with “an accumulation of everything”, because “he never ever” thought that he would become the Fallera Mayor of Valencia: “For me it has been a dream , a gift that Valencia has given me and for which I will always be grateful”.
Paula Nieto has affirmed that the “moment” of the ‘mascletà’ has “made her very sad”. “I’ve been to all the ‘mascletàs’, I’ve really enjoyed them and the fact that this was the last one made me very sad”, she said very emotionally.
Regarding her year as Fallera Mayor Infantil de València, she has asserted that “it has been a very nice feeling”. “She would summarize these days as exciting days, unique and unforgettable days”, she has said goodbye.
Finally, the councilor for Festival Culture in the Valencia City Council and president of the Junta Central Fallera, Carlos Galiana, has expressed that the sensations that these Fallas have left him have been “brutal”. “I don’t know if we have any memory of what happened last year, but this ‘mascletà’ seemed spectacular to me and the ‘Nit del Foc’ I also think it was brutal”, remarked the mayor, who stressed that the festivities “they are going well, but there is still the Cremà that is complicated”,
With regard to the health care provided at this Saturday’s ‘mascletà’, the Red Cross has indicated that 47 people have been treated, of which one woman had to be evacuated due to abdominal pain, another due to trauma and a man with heart disease
The assistance provided has been to 14 men and 12 women due to fainting, six women due to anxiety crises, one men and three women due to burns –two of them due to the act–, three men and three women due to injuries –three of them for the act–, a woman due to trauma, another due to abdominal pain and two men and one woman for various reasons that have not been specified.
In total, the Red Cross has mobilized 62 people for this operation: ten nurses, ten TES, 40 lifeguards and two coordinators. Regarding the vehicles, three SVA ambulances, three SVB, three transport vehicles and one coordination vehicle have participated.
