La Fallera Mayor
The Fallas Queens, the most recognisable figures in the festival, the Fallera Mayor and the Fallera Mayor Infantil
La Fallera Mayor
The Fallas Queens, the most recognisable figures in the festival, the Fallera Mayor and the Fallera Mayor Infantil
If you were to ask a Valencian who is the key presence in the Fallas festival, the one that symbolises the event as a whole, they would undoubtedly tell you it’s the Fallera Mayor. This figure encapsulates all the effort, love for Valencian traditions, hard work, and enthusiasm that define the falleros and falleras, the people that make this festival possible. She is the spirit of Fallas.
A Fallera Mayor de Valencia is a female member of a comisión fallera (Fallas committee) who is elected every year by a jury to represent all other members in the city. The term Fallera Mayor also defines the representatives of every single committee, but more often than not it is used for the aforementioned festival Queen.
The Fallera Mayor is also accompanied by a Fallera Mayor Infantil, who represents the children involved in the Fallas committees, much like adult Fallera. Together, they are the ambassadors of the festival, both in Valencia, and in other Spanish cities. The figure of the Fallera Mayor is found all over the Valencian region, wherever there is a version of the Fallas festival to be celebrated.