The three committees celebrate their patron saint, Saint Joseph, this Thursday with masses, a parade of floats and the traditional ‘Nit de la Cremà’
Benidorm Fallas offer tribute to Mare de Déu del Sofratge in the prelude to their big day
The three Fallas commissions of Benidorm—Els Tolls, Rincón de Loix, and Benidorm Centro—celebrated this afternoon their traditional joint flower offering to the Mare de Déu del Sofratge, patron saint of Benidorm, in the prelude to their main festival day. Several hundred Fallas members participated in a colourful parade, which also included the Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez; the Councillor for Fiestas, Mariló Cebreros; and numerous members of the City Council, who showed their support for the three Fallas commissions and the members of the Local Fallas Board, which is presided over this year by Pablo Pérez. Among them was also regional deputy José Ramón González de Zarate.
The banner of the Local Fallas Board led a procession in which Els Tolls Fallas commission paraded, in order of seniority, headed by its Fallas Queen and its president, Teresa Peris and Wenceslao Peris; The Rincón de Loix Fallas committee, with its children's Fallas Queen, Nahia Fernández, along with its children's president, Samuel Cortés, and its president, Javier Rico; and the Benidorm Centro Fallas committee, which this year is represented by its children's Fallas Queen and children's president, Thais Jiménez and Carlos de Torres, its Fallas Queen, Jaira Rodríguez, and its president, Antonio de Torres, all accompanied by marching bands playing Fallas pasodobles and melodies played on the xirimita and tabalet (traditional flutes).
Likewise, the queens of the 2026 Patron Saint Festivals, Laura Ivars Marín and Carmen Guillem Campos, and their courts of honour also paraded in the procession and offered gifts to the patron saint, in a gesture of festive brotherhood with the Fallas of the city.
The procession departed at 6:30 p.m. from the intersection of Avenida de Europa and Mediterráneo, heading towards Doctor Pérez Llorca. From there, it proceeded along Martínez Alejos, Alameda, and Calle Mayor, finally arriving at Plaza del Castelar in El Castell. Throughout the route, large crowds applauded the three Fallas commissions and their Fallas queens, both for their graceful marching and the beauty of their traditional Valencian dresses.
Once in El Castell, after placing all the bouquets on a floral tapestry dedicated to the Mare de Déu del Sofratge, Mayor Toni Pérez addressed those present to thank the three commissions for their work and to wish them that this Thursday, the main day of the Fallas festival for the feast of Saint Joseph, “the monuments will burn as they should,” while also encouraging everyone to “enjoy the rest of these festivities to the fullest.”
The mayor reiterated the City Council's "full cooperation" with these festivities and paid tribute to those who have been part of the Fallas festival in Benidorm throughout its more than half-century of history and who are no longer with us, also uttering words that resonated in the square: 'Amunt, valentes!'
Finally, Toni Pérez concluded with the wish that the ‘Nit de la Cremà’ would “burn away the bad and allow us to live with hope in 2026,” encouraging the members of the Fallas to “keep the flame of the festival burning.”
The event ended with the playing of the official anthems of Benidorm and the Valencian Community, after which the Fallas queens of the three commissions, along with the queens of the Patron Saint Festivities, the members of the Local Fallas Board, and the Councilor for Festivals, offered their flowers at the Chapel of Our Lady of Suffrage, in the presence of Mayor Toni Pérez; the presidents of the Local Board and the Festival Commission; and the parish priest of Sant Jaume i Santa Anna, Juan Antonio González.
This Thursday, March 19, the Fallas celebrate the day of their patron saint in grand style, with numerous events taking place. Throughout the day, each commission has scheduled wake-up calls, parades, and masses in honour of Saint Joseph in the different districts. At 2:00 PM, Els Tolls and Benidorm Centro will set off two mascletàs (firecracker displays) in the upper part of Tomás Ortuño Street and on Otoño Street, respectively.
At 6:30 PM, the parade of floats will begin, travelling along Marqués de Comillas, Almendros, Marte, Venus, Ruzafa, Martínez Alejos, and Alcoy streets.
The celebrations will culminate with the "Nit de la Cremà" (Night of the Burning), which will begin at 10:30 PM with the burning of the children's monument of the Rincón de Loix Fallas commission, while at 11:00 PM the children's falla of Benidorm Centro will be set ablaze. After the children's ninots (papier-mâché figures), it will be the turn of the adult fallas, which their Falleras Mayores (queens) and presidents will set ablaze. Order: 23.30 hours, Rincón de Loix; 00 hours, Benidorm Centro; and 00.30 hours, Falla Els Tolls.
