Greater Fallera of Valencia

Estefanía López Montesinos, Fallera Mayor in 2015, visiting a failure

The figure of fallera mayor occurs in Valencia and in other towns where the festival of the fallas is present and is the main representative of a fallera commission, during the festivities and activities that said commission performs during the year that his reign lasts, he will also act as a representative before other fallas commissions or other events to which the commission is invited.

There is also the position of child fallera mayor, held by a girl and who would equally represent the children of a fallera commission.

Main Falleras of Valencia

The Major Fallera of Valencia, as well as the Major Child Fallera of Valencia, is the maximum symbolic representative of the Fallas of Valencia, in both cases they are members of a Fallas commission, chosen by a jury, and whose main function is to exercise as ambassador of the Fallas festival in the city of Valencia itself and outside of it, wherever she is required during the year that her reign lasts.

Current election system

The first step of choosing is pre-selection. Each fallera commission in Valencia that so desires may present a candidate, in most cases these candidates are the senior falleras of the commission of the previous fallera year, and in each fallero sector the appropriate preselection of falleras will be carried out. Said act consists of a parade of the candidates dressed as Valencians to be evaluated by a jury. Since 2012, for each sector, 3 falleras can be chosen in the event that the sector is made up of more than 13 commissions, 2 falleras for the rest of the sectors, which have between 7 and 12 commissions. In the case of children it is the same. The jury that will choose both children and adults can be of 2 types depending on the sector: a jury appointed by the Junta Central Fallera or a jury made up of the presidents of the different fallas in the sector.

Secondly, the selection of courts will be made where those shortlisted falleras will be evaluated for several days by a jury made up of seven people, three of them appointed by the president of the Junta Central Fallera and that is made up of people of worth various professions (journalists, protocol experts, fallas artists,...) and by people related to the fallas (former major falleras, former Courts of Honor, ex-directors of the Fallera Central Board,...) and the remaining four elected democratically by the assembly of presidents, among those who present there are presidents of fallas, presidents of groups, sector delegates and members of Junta Central Fallera. This jury from among all the candidates will have the function of choosing the thirteen that they consider best for the position.

The third phase of the process is carried out by the same jury that chose the courts of honor, in this case, from among the 13 chosen, the one who will be the Fallera Mayor of Valencia will be appointed. Same case for children

List

Main Falleras of Valencia

The first representatives of the party were elected democratically among the candidates presented by the Fallas commissions of the time. In 1931 under the title of Reina Fallera and in 1932 with the name of Reinas Falleras i>. It was in 1933 when the title of Fallera Mayor de Valencia was used for the first time.

The Valencian Pepita Samper, first Miss Spain, was invited to preside over the acts of the faults of 1929, thus being the precedent to the figure of the Queen Fallera created in 1931.

The Spanish Civil War meant that between 1937 and 1939 the Fallas festival was not celebrated, and therefore that the main fallera of Valencia was not chosen. For the first time in 1940 the Fallera Mayor was chosen by direct designation.

The mayor of Valencia, Adolfo Rincón de Arellano with the Fallera Mayor of Valencia of 1965, María José Carmena, at the inauguration of the monument to the teacher Serrano.

After 40 years of direct designation, it was decided that the Fallera Mayor be chosen from among the falleras that make up the court of honor.

At Monteolivete's Fallen Museum, also home to Central Fallera Board, the portraits of the latest Falleras Mayores de Valencia are shown.

Raquel Alario Bernabé, Fallera Mayor of Valencia of 2017, participating in a parade during the week of failures.

Children's Falleras of Valencia

Elected by direct appointment.

From this moment on, the Children's Major Fallera will be chosen among the components previously selected to be part of the children's court of honor.

Honours of Prizes

Commissions with two or more Falleras Mayores and children's Falleras Mayores from Valencia

Sectors with two or more Falleras Mayores and Falleras Mayores for children in Valencia