15th anniversary of La Falla de Saint-Michel

The Valencian tradition of burning giant sculptures is celebrated yearly at the Sain-Michel district of Montreal in a big festival format hosted by TOHU.

For weeks on end, young falleros come together to create a collective work of art that engages the whole community. Once their work is complete, it is lit on fire and reduced to ashes over the course of a weekend celebrating their collective efforts. This fiesta-style gathering features everything from family activities to open-air concerts to happy-hour shows –a joyful and artistic ritual inspired by Spanish carnival traditions.

The 15th edition of La Falla de Saint-Michel will once again set fire to a 9-meter high and 10-meter wide structure on August 10th at 9 pm. This is the highlight of the celebration, accompanied by fireworks.

The monumental structure is built under the theme of games and toys, which leaves room for a global universe. Expect Lego characters in three dimensions, giant Tintin rocket, Rubik cubes and oversized dice games, a wooden cabin and images reminiscent of traditional amusements.

Every summer since its creation in 2004, TOHU welcomes falleros, young Montrealers undergoing socio-professional integration, supported by PITREM. Aged 16 to 23, they worked for 10 weeks to build the structure.

About Fallas

The celebration’s origins go back to the parots of the carpenters: a wooden lamp that was used to light the workshops in winter and was burned in the street on the eve of San José Day (in the case of Valencia). At first, they were given a human appearance by decorating them with old clothes, but in the mid-19th century, they started making them bigger and taller and improving their forms to convert them into decorative dolls.