Artists in Action at the Ciutat Fallera

The plantà on March 15th can seem a miraculous occurrence. Just like on Christmas morning, when children come downstairs to find presents under the tree, Valencians come onto the streets to find gigantic monuments erected all about. But it’s not magic: we visited the North Pole of Fallas, Ciutat Fallera, where a community of artists are hard at work, busy as elves.

Initially, I thought it was just a nickname, but Ciutat Fallera is an actual neighborhood in Valencia, located in the northwest of...