Falles are a fire feast. They are known in our county ever since time out of mind. They are celebrations related to the summer solstice and they serve as a preparation for the harvest and as a means to scare away the evil spirits.
The first village to bring down falles is Durro, during the celebration of Saint Quirc’s day, in mid June. During Saint John’s eve it is the turn of Barruera and Boí. At the beginning of July, falles are brought down at Erill la Vall and the last of these celebrations takes place at Taüll, by mid July.
In order to bring down falles, a flare must have been prepared by piling up trees vertically at a high point away from the village. The falles must have been prepared also, by making a kind of torch with resinous pine wood tied to an ash tree or a hazelnut tree stick.
The night the falles are brought down, people climb up to the flare as night falls. Before going down, they have a snack and a nip of wine. After that, they light up the flare, then the falles, and then the descent starts. The first stretch is quite steep and people walk downwards, but soon afterwards they start to run and they do not stop until they get to the village. There, musicians play a special melody that accompanies the falles every year, while the falles carriers run around the village until they finally throw the falles into a big bonfire.
