Ninots

Ninots?? Don't worry, it's not a typo or anything rude!! But it was a word I'd not come across before - so here's what it means:

For many, the main focus of Las Fallas Festival in Valencia is the creation and destruction of ninots, which are huge statues made of papier-mache, cardboard, wood, or plaster. The ninots are extremely lifelike and usually depict bawdy, satirical scenes and current events. At the end of the Fallas festivities the ninots (stuffed with fireworks) are burnt on huge pyres, apparently hot enough to melt nearby windows (according to one of SJ's students)!! Only two are saved, which are voted for at an exhibition at the Science Museum. Which is where SJ encouraged our household to visit on Friday afternoon - when it would have been all too easy to snooze away the rest of the day after a hard weeks teaching! It was so worth a visit. There were hundreds of ninots, and we were lucky enough to see some of the Fallas queen's dressed in traditional costumes, also admiring the exhibition. So definitely a spectacle not to be missed!