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PyroSure lights up Valencia
Well what a trip!
Before I talk about the trip, there are a few thanks to be made.
Most importantly my wife who whilst I was away had to deal with builders demolishing 1/3rd of our house ready for an extension.
The next has to be Mike Knox, PyroSure. Mike invited me to Valencia as thanks for some of the help I had offered in testing Pyrosure with Finale Fireworks, editing brochures, and arranging translations into various languages. Mike has supported my interest in fire-working over the past three years with reciprocal payments of support for his launch of new products.
Then there is obviously, Pirotecnia Turis S.L, clients of PyroSure, who invited PyroSure to assist with their main shows at Las Fallas, Valencia and the various Italian Parente companies who looked after us and fed us until we could eat no more.
On the Monday after arrival at Alicante to pick up Mike, we headed north of Valencia to the offices of Turis down a muddy track (it was raining hard), where their crews were emptying the warehouses into several 11 tonne trucks.
Final checks on how they were using PyroSure were confirmed, but they had already used it in the field and were happy with the performance, 35 modules (840 cues) would however really put the system to the test. They had chosen to split the display into 24 segments allowing them to fire each segment via a push of the fire button, thus allowing smoke or effects to clear so as not to lose the next effect.
Mike and I headed into Valencia and took an easy stroll around the centre to get our bearings.
Tuesday was an 8am start at the Paseo de la Alameda, proudly sporting my new PyroSure t-shirt. Mike was off talking business with those other companies that had turned up to see the setup.
I was put to work loading hundreds of salutes in the wet, on a very soggy sandy surface. Sand bags were a plenty to provide support and it was interesting to watch their technicians tie with string all the various Spanish quickmatch joins...no gaffer tape. I continued with helping wherever I was asked, everything from refusing cakes, wiring up PyroSure cues, polishing off the bacon sarnies - you name it - they were a great crew and very welcoming considering I do not speak Spanish and very few spoke anything but broken English.
Time out for lunch and the main Mascaleta and Mike, I and the Italians head off to the main square for the display by Pirotechnia Bencholl.
Back to help the crew finish off, run the checks with PyroSure. A few wrong connections identified by the contoller and quickly corrected by Turis's display manager 'Paco'- all human error. A quick tidy of the site, before most headed off for an early evening Tapas at a local bar. Back on site, security passes issued before the Police cleared the riverbed site of kids and spectators and all the joggers.
I initially setup all my cameras about 50m and ground level facing the site and about 20m from the main controller firing position. Then I realised the bridge (Passarel la de l'Exposicio) behind had been closed to the public so with my pass I grabbed my gear and legged it onto the centre of the bridge....all for about five minutes when the police decided that it was not acceptable - I would upset the official photographers - who were not allowed onto the bridge. Back Ground Zero, Mike and Paco were running their final checks, all modules were running, all but one cue had registered - never did find out what was wrong but Paco checked and was happy it was a pyro issue not a technical issue.
Lights out, cameras rolling and on the stroke of midnight FIRE!.
Twenty minutes later and to the sound of cheers from at a guess a crowd of 250,000+ it was all over. It was a fantastic display and a privilege being so close – not something new to me, but a privilege all the same.
Mike however had buried his head in his hat... for him the sheer relief that his system had just fired a faultless show in Valencia- “PyroSure had lit up Valencia”.
After a few seconds, we and all the crew were jumping with joy. The Italians were confirming orders with Mike, I and the crew began the clear up, with me de-rigging PyroSure.
Quick wipe down, job done!... Oh with the reminder from Paco that we needed to be in the main square in a few hours to help with the Mascaleta.
Valencia roars to the beat of the Mascaleta
8:30am on a very wet Wednesday morning saw Mike and I arrive at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and just in time to help the crew start putting plastic bags over the first half of the individual mascaletas as the rain was coming down hard.
Eventually the crew gave up and sought refuge under the town hall, as did we, again the smell of food was more tempting than standing in the rain. By 11am there was talk with the town officials of cancelling the display, it was just too wet (for Spaniards) to setup. Mike and I went for coffee and by midday, the rain had eased. When we got back to the square the decision had just been made to continue, that meant one half of the square still had to have it's full mascaleta setup - all hands to the rope... literally. Oh! what fun, scaling the wire mesh fence to tie off ropes, running all the lines etc.
HD Camera setup, rolling, and fire. There is loud and then there is mascaleta loud. Turis were the only display company of the week to run a rhythm through the ending of their display, hard to hear from the videos, but it had the crowd absolutely bouncing. I have never seen a crowd rush to cheer on the crew after a display, but that they did. The crew this time didn't need a clearing service that seems to provided mainly by the towns street cleaners, only a few components needed to be loaded on a van.....
Turis headed off to prepare for several other events throughout the week, Mike, I and the Italians headed for a siesta followed by a very long dinner...to the point we missed that nights main display... Oh well you cannot have it all!
The rest of the week, we became tourists. An amazing festival, I cannot get over watching 3yr olds lighting fireworks in the street, kids chasing each other shooting Roman Candles and watching / listening to some of the most fantastic displays, see the wonder displays of Ninots, local costumes and flower festivals.
Above all though, the ability to help with two key displays, supporting Mike with PyroSure, which I believe is a truly competent system, working with one of the main Valencian pyro companies, and wearing the Flashpoint jacket for the rest of the week was an experience that will be hard to match, especially for a hobbiest pyrotechnician.
Thanks again to all who made this a very special trip.
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