An emotional ‘Nit de la Cremà’ puts the perfect finishing touch to Benidorm Fallas festival
‘Nit de la Cremà’ (Night of the Burning) brought the 2016 Fallas of Benidorm to a close last night, in a five-act performance where fire and gunpowder provided the perfect finale to these festivities, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2016. The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez; the Councilor for Festivals, Mariló Cebreros; and other members of the local government accompanied the members of the three Fallas commissions and the President of the Local Fallas Board, Pablo Pérez, in the burning of the monuments, which blazed cleanly and without incident in all three districts, before the watchful eyes of hundreds of people.
The first fallas to be engulfed in flames were the two children's fallas erected this year: the Benidorm Centro falla, winner of first prize in its category, and the Rincón de Loix falla. In both cases, it was the children's Fallas queens and their presidents, Thais Jiménez and Carlos de Torres, and Nahia Fernández and Samuel Cortés, who lit the fuse that set their small ninots ablaze.
Next, it was the turn of the adult Fallas queens. Following the established order year after year, the first monument to burn was that of the Falla del Rincón, this year's Critics' Award winner, whose cremà (burning) began shortly after 11:30 p.m., after the respective parades and the selection of the pardoned ninot by its children's Fallas queen and president, Javier Rico. Following this same ritual to the letter, the next to be set ablaze were the fallas of Benidorm Centro and Els Tolls, the latter awarded best falla of 2026. In both cases, their Fallas Queens, Jaira Rodríguez and Teresa Peris, lit the fuses of their respective monuments before the watchful eyes of their presidents, Antonio de Torres and Wenceslao Peris, as well as the rest of the members of their respective commissions, many of whom could not hold back their tears of emotion.
Both Mayor Toni Pérez and Councillor Mariló Cebreros congratulated the presidents and Fallas Queens, as well as the Local Fallas Board, for the success of all the events that took place during the 2026 Fallas and wished them that 2027 Fallas, whose festive cycle is now beginning, “will once again be unforgettable.”
They also expressed their gratitude for the professionalism of the entire security detail prepared by the City Council for the festivities, especially for the "Nit de la Cremà" (Night of the Burning), in which the Local Police, Civil Protection, Firefighters, and the Red Cross participated, monitoring the spectacle at all times.
After the burning, and while the city slept, workers from the contracted cleaning company removed the last remnants of the monuments in just a few hours, and the Mobility Department restored service to the streets that had been closed in recent days, with everything returning to normal by Friday.
