This is the top part of a Wizard of Oz Falla partially assembled.

We’ve been spending half of our time in Spain since the start of 2014, so we’re making some progress in understanding how things work here, but there’s always more to learn.

Shortly after arriving in January we were out on our bikes one evening and noticed a lot of fireworks being set up along the fountain in front of the Palau de la Música. We stopped to talk to some policía nearby and asked what was being celebrated.

They explained that this year’s Fallera (Princess of the Fallas festival) was being announced that evening. I said that I was under the impression that Fallas didn’t get started until the last Sunday in February (when explosions provide an early-morning wake-up call). The policewoman replied that Fallas never ends.

This ceremony, called “the exaltation of the Fallera Mayor,” is what…