Controversy strikes Valencia Fallas

Women all around the Valencian Community have been up in arms as controversy strikes the annual Fallas celebrations in Valencia, with a number of effigies deemed sexist and inappropriate.

The Fallas is typically a family event with displays more often than not focusing on cartoon characters, with displays set up in public areas open for all to see.

The creators of the effigies say they are meant to convey humour, irony and satire however this year some have gone too far in their creations, pushing the boundaries in a way many have found unacceptable.

Fallas de Burriana – Castellón

Feminist groups have demanded the immediate withdrawal of the display l’Escorredor street, which they describe as sexist and demeaning to woman.

Depicting a troglodyte couple under the motto Que bé viu Batiste el primitiu (How well Batiste the primitive lives) the effigy shows a caveman standing over a scantily clad woman with her bum in the air, and he with his club.

The Abolitionist Front of the Valencian Country posted on its Instagram account:

“We are fed up with the fact that every year we come across ninots that reproduce blatantly sexist stereotypes, that objectify women and represent us as mere sexual objects, but this year’s L’escorredor de Burriana fails in 2022, with the motto ‘Que bé viu Batiste el primitiu’ (the troglodyte) is the last straw, in which a terrible scene of sexist violence, more specifically sexual violence, is staged.

As much as the failures have a component of humor and satire, there is no justification for staging something as serious as the sexual violence that women suffer, much less praising the action (you just have to read the theme of the monument).

We find ourselves in a very serious situation for women, adolescents and girls, since gang rapes by young people have increased worryingly in recent years.

Fallas monuments, as part of the culture of our city and country, also educate the population and, above all, the young population, who have more time to enjoy the fallas.

The presence of this fallero monument is intolerable. We demand their immediate withdrawal.”

Lepanto-Guillem de Castro fault – Valencia

The Lepanto-Guillem de Castro falla shows a nude woman seated with her legs bent and feet on the floor. The effigy which received the tenth prize in the experimental category, was vandalised with the lady’s private parts and lower abdomen being destroyed.

Fallera artist Anna Ruiz and creator of the effigy said: “All of us come from a woman’s vagina” adding that she does not understand why this attack has occurred. The artist has shown her indignation at what happened in statements to À Punt because they has attacked “the naked body of a woman” simply for showing herself as she is, in a completely natural. For his part, the President of the Fallera Intergroup Guillermo Serrano described these situations as “abnormal” but in no case “can we get used to them.” As the attached photos show, in the end Anna Ruiz has been able to rebuild the damaged figure.

Mayor Joan Ribó has joined the condemnation for this attack on his Twitter account saying: “There was an act of vandalism against the Falla Avinguda Burjassot-Joaquim Ballester i Reus and today it was against Lepanto-Guillem de Castro. The highest municipal authority shows its total condemnation of the vandals. Their intolerance only represents them and their shortcomings.”

He continued saying: “The Fallas are art, satire, social denunciation. And they place a mirror to look at us and reflect. I support the commissions.”

The controversy that strikes the Fallas has arisen given the emotive nature of the Fallas effigies in Valencia and is bound to rage for weeks with women’s organisations taking an increasingly stronger stance against sexism and abuse.

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