After a day of painting we went to the “La Cité des Art du Cirque” for the annual Falla. A Falla is a wooden sculpture that is set in flames as a cleansing ritual. Falla-burning is a centuries-old Spanish tradition, where carpenters would burn their wood-shavings in a bonfire as a tribute to their patron saint San José. In this case it also involved some fire juggling and fireworks.
We at first couldn’t find the terrain because I had forgotten to look up directions. So we spend a good half hour circling around an old quarry in the North of Montréal, while the “circus city”, built around a big theatre of the “Cirque de Soleil” was in fact in another old quarry, a couple of blocks to the west. Anyway, we made it in time and went for a tour of the circus-theatre first and then saw the ritual burning. The fire department put a sort of water curtain in the air to protect the neighbourhood going up in flames, and were succesful in doing so. My car however, that was also parked leeward of the fire, was covered in ashes. But it’ll wash of with the next shower.
Aug 27 2005
Falla
After a day of painting we went to the “La Cité des Art du Cirque” for the annual Falla. A Falla is a wooden sculpture that is set in flames as a cleansing ritual. Falla-burning is a centuries-old Spanish tradition, where carpenters would burn their wood-shavings in a bonfire as a tribute to their patron saint San José. In this case it also involved some fire juggling and fireworks.
We at first couldn’t find the terrain because I had forgotten to look up directions. So we spend a good half hour circling around an old quarry in the North of Montréal, while the “circus city”, built around a big theatre of the “Cirque de Soleil” was in fact in another old quarry, a couple of blocks to the west. Anyway, we made it in time and went for a tour of the circus-theatre first and then saw the ritual burning. The fire department put a sort of water curtain in the air to protect the neighbourhood going up in flames, and were succesful in doing so. My car however, that was also parked leeward of the fire, was covered in ashes. But it’ll wash of with the next shower.
By mare • english •