Dragons, politicians go up in flames in Spain's fiery festival

Valencia's Las FalLas festival lit up on the early hours of Wednesday the Mediterranean sky with fireworks and flames from blazing sculptures of all shapes and sizes - beautiful amazons, fairytale dragons and cartoonish effigies of politicians such as U.S. President Donald Trump.

The festival, during which hundreds of intricate "ninots", the Valencian name for papier-mâché dolls, are brought into the streets and then burned on the Last day, is a centuries-old tradition honoring St Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.

The themed dolls and doll sets, some as big as a four-story building, are made by groups of artisans and cost hundreds of thousands of euros to produce. In 2016, UNESCO recognized Las FalLas as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Sculptures of Las FalLas festival in Valencia, Spain. /VCG Photo

The themes vary from musicals and magic to hot social and political issues, with the current edition featuring women's rights, the global rise of populism and the far right or Catalonia's bid to gain independence from Spain.

The divisive planned removal of Franco's body from a state mausoleum also merited comic references. Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was pictured as a prince waking "Sleeping Beauty" Franco from his tomb.

In another, a grinning Sanchez flies a government jet in an allusion to allegations that he used one for private trips.

"Ninots" burn on the Last night of the FalLas festival in Valencia, Spain. /VCG Photo

Each year, members of the public vote on their favorite sculptures to save the best two from the final bonfire called “Cremà”.

The festival is believed to have originated from pagan rituals marking the end of winter.

(Cover image: Figures burn during the finale of the FalLas festival inValencia, Spain./VCG Photo )