Mac's Poll - Let's Vote

Fallas has to be one of the most spectacular festivals Spain has along with the Carnival of Tenerife and The Easter Processions, but the Easter processions are pretty much a repetition every year of the same thing, where as Fallas (and the Carnival) shows new creativity every year.

What is so special about Fallas is that it involves the entire city and there are over 600 monuments or sculptures built around the city including the main monuments and the infant monuments. It truly is a giant open-air museum full of marquees open to the public for having a drink or a bite to eat. Churros and chocolate are on sale at every corner and paellas are being made over burning cinder down every side street.

The smell of gunpowder in permanently in the air and impregnates your clothes as if you had been beside a bonfire all night. The relentless sound of bangers and firecrackers exploding and echoing around the city day and night only add more atmosphere to this 4 dimensional “Fiesta”; Sight, Sound, Smell and Taste.

And if that wasn’t enough be blown away or blinded by the spectacular street lighting, which is second to none. However I am still surprised to this very day that Fallas is still relatively unknown outside of Spanish borders, or at least that is the sensation I get. “Fiestas” such as The Bulls of Pamplona and the Tomatoes of the Tomatina seem to attract more international attention and would certainly give the impression that they are more widely known.

Am I mistaken or is my impression right?  

Although many people come to Valencia during Fallas over 1 million visitors, the majority are Spanish. So I was curious to know whether the members on Eye On Spain had actually visited Fallas before or not. I assume all of the members on Eye On Spain either live in Spain, holiday in Spain, used to live in Spain or have some connection with the country and know of this Festivity… please feel free to leave a comment…

If you have never been, have a look at this video and maybe you should plan a visit for next year!

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Manuel García-Argallo, believes that the country’s indicators attest to the fact that the image of Spain has improved around the world, with the exception of Japan. 

Spanish companies in 2012 alone were awarded infrastructure contracts to the value of 23 billion euros. Every day we hear about corruption cases going to court and people being convicted. New laws are being passed and judges are being ruthless. The inland revenue has stepped up a few gears and new iniciatives are being brought forward to try and reduce the black economy. 

Even though there is still so much to do and it will still take a while to clean the slate, if that is ever possible, but do you get the feeling that Spain has matured a bit over the past couple of years? Has its image internationally grown for the better or has it gone down hill. Certainly from an "in Spain" point of view the feeling here is that things are getting better but still have a long way to go. Is the country's campaign for the "Brand" SPAIN working? Do you see Spain as  better country now than it was say 5 years ago? 

Please cast your vote and leave a comment...