The Mascletà... loud!

Continuing with the information regarding the Hogueras de San Juan festival in Alicante, I want to add to a previous post about the Mascletà where I talked about the display at midnight.  During the festival, there is a display every day at 2pm from Plaza de los Luceros.  As I mentioned, a Mascletà is a Valencian word that describes an organised display of firecrackers (really really loud ones) and some fireworks, although it is not a visual show, more of a noisy one...

Each morning, after the police have closed off the affected streets, the pyrotechnicians only have a few hours to set up the strings of firecrackers which are carefully controlled to light in sequence following a rhythm.

They look like colourful decorations but be warned, they make loads of noise like explosions.  It is a competition so they want to make the best display possible.  The winners of the previous year get to do the display of the last day of the fiestas when there are the most spectators.

The show lasts between 5 and 10 minutes and always ends in a big 'crescendo' and when it is over, everything gets cleaned up and the streets can open again.  The event is televised so if you don't like to be in the crowds and you want to get a good view from different angles then its a much calmer possibility.  The display I watched on the TV the other day registered the loudest part as 125dB so it might be wise to take ear plugs.  FYI, I found this information out on www.howstuffworks.com

Some common sounds and their decibel ratings:

• Near total silence - 0 dB
• A whisper - 15 dB
• Normal conversation - 60 dB
• A lawnmower - 90 dB
• A car horn - 110 dB
• A rock concert or a jet engine - 120 dB
• A gunshot or firecracker - 140 dB

You know from your own experience that distance affects the intensity of sound -- if you are far away, the power is greatly diminished. All of the ratings above are taken while standing near the sound.

Any sound above 85 dB can cause hearing loss, and the loss is related both to the power of the sound as well as the length of exposure. You know that you are listening to an 85-dB sound if you have to raise your voice to be heard by somebody else. Eight hours of 90-dB sound can cause damage to your ears; any exposure to 140-dB sound causes immediate damage (and causes actual pain). 

If you want to get a good spot around the plaza (photo above) to hear the noise and experience the body-trembling vibrations (it really is strong) you should arrive about half an hour or so before the show.

The Gigantes y Cabezudos (giants and big heads) walk and dance their way from the town hall to the Plaza de los Luceros in time for the Mascletà.  They are quite quirky as the costumes are actually old and the music that accompanies them is typical of these fiestas. 

These costumes and also some hogueras, or parts of them, that were 'saved' from the flames along with a history of this fiesta can be found in the Museum of the Hogueras on the Rambla and is open all year round.