ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the main symbols that express the present terms of a historical ‘compromise’, in the Festival of the Fallas, between the festive community, the ‘civic’ institutions and the Catholic Church. Following an introductory section, the first section describes the Festival. The second section explains the primordial symbols of the festive community, which have a sense of the ephemeral: fire and fireworks, flowers, satirical monuments. The third section looks at the ‘officially religious’and ‘civic’ symbols. The Council includes the Valencian flag and hymn, but (in interaction with the Church) uses the figure of Our Lady as a central symbol to integrate and co-ordinate the huge network of festive communities. Finally, it is shown that this compromise has involved a ‘repositioning’ of Our Lady as the central ‘officially religious’ figure in the Festival, relegating Saint Joseph to a secondary place.
