La Planta, SJ-4

So, the party has definitely started! Yesterday the number of times I heard firecrackers being set off inthe neighbourhood increased exponentially... there are at least 3-4 of these little kiosks within walking distance:

and the kids are literally having a blast!

Not so the dog who is spending most of her days here:

she really doesn't like the Hogueras!

And today at 2 P.M. while I was trying to swim a few laps in the pool (and discovering that after a year an Olympic size pool feels huge!) I was startled by a prolonged series of explosions that didn't sound that far away... but from the amount of time they lasted I'm sure it was the big mascletà set off at the Plaza de los Luceros which will be every day this week at 2... another very noisy pyrotechnic competition! I'll try to get down one day and record some of it so you can share in the noise with me! ;o)

But all that's been slowly escalating for the past week. What has been new this weekend is the Plantà! As in the setting up of the Hogueras, the monuments themselves!

There's one just up the street from me, Hoguera Avda Costablanca Entreplayas (4th category), and they were hard at work yesterday (I arrived just as a crane was leaving):

Bits and pieces of it were scattered around waiting to be unwrapped and put into place...

A bit further away, the Hoguera Condomina (also 4th category) was being set up today, with finishing touches being added on...

while members of the Hoguera watched:

and more ninots waited to be put into position.

Pretty much the same thing was taking place with the bigger Hogueras downtown, just on a larger scale! Here's the Hoguera Hernán Cortés (categoría especial), with in front of it the tables for members of the Hoguera who will be getting together for meals most nights this week (and then get a front seat on the burning):

Want a closer look into the belly of the beast?

If you click this bigger you can see the holes where more elements need to be inserted:

The Hoguera Calvo Sotelo (1st category) wasn't as far along when I went by...

Basically most of the elements were there, kind of like a 3D jigsaw puzzle that still needs to be assembled...

The only one who got a headstart was the Hoguera Official in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento:

They got to set up on Friday, and I missed out! Fortunately other people (better informed than me about the proceedings) did make it downtown and recorded most of the process here. Check it out it's pretty impressive!

Over the next couple of days I'll head downtown and admire the finished Hogueras and give you guys a look. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to organise it by categories like last year, or just as I happen to come across them while walking around.