Valencia 2 - City Lit on Fire

Actually the experience going into Valencia was SO cool though because as soon as we arrived, the air was smoky, and people were running from all directions, debris raining all over the place, and random explosions BOOM! So loud that it would shake the entire bus...I felt like I was in Bosnia. So we get out of the bus and started exploring, I saw the craziest things. A castle and huge displays of the falleras (cardboard constructions) before they would be lit by the Reina de las Fallas (Queen). A girl is chosen to be Reina and light all the fallas from all of these girls in huge elaborate dresses that have to be thousands of dollars. The actual fallera constructions themselves are supposed to represent social ills that are cured once you light them on fire, and supposed to be good luck for the crop season. I saw one falla with a figure of their own president on it! There was tons of music and crazy people that would light a firecrackerand throw it at your feet or just throw it on the ground and walk away.You never knew if one was going to fly up and whiz by your face, or explode near your feet. I kept my glasses on the whole time to protect my eyes because there was debris and cardboard falling from the sky. It was hard to breathe. So finally when the biggest explosions started there was soo many people inthe crowd, I couldn't even turn around. Pesada (Annoyance) said be back by 1:30, and the crowd was so dense, we left at 12am, got stuck in it and had to stay in awkward positions for an hour! I was facing opposite of the actual fallas, but I couldnt really turn around. AWFUL! People were fainting, but we couldnt move and the ambulances and firetrucks couldnt get through. These explosions were right by buildings, and I am so surprised that the buildings themselves didnt catch on fire! I looked around in wonder staring up at the sky, where firecrackers exploded and blown-up condoms floated around, I felt a hand on my purse. I felt a hand trying to steal my stuff, and my purse was halfway open, so I SLAPPED the hand hard and pulled my purse towards me. This littlelady kept looking at me I KNOW ITS HER, and when I would look back, she looked away, but I couldnt move away from her dangit!