Peer down this dark-paved narrow street on your right, lined with tall brick facades, wrought-iron balconies, and an ornate stone tower rising in the distance. Unlike the Rationists' Hall we saw earlier, Calle Na Jordana holds a totally different legacy.
The name actually comes from a historical bakery run by a woman whose husband was named Jordà. Locals called her Jordana, the feminine version of his name. Add Na, an old Valencian courtesy title for a lady, and you have Na Jordana. This street is legendary for Las Fallas, the festival where massive, satirical sculptures called fallas are built and burned. The Na Jordana group boasts a hundred and twenty-five years of history, winning the top prize twelve times.
Eventually, their grand monuments grew so enormous they outgrew this tight space. In nineteen eighty-three, they moved to the wider Plaza del Portal Nou nearby so the giant sculptures wouldn't get stuck between balconies. Their commission building here is typically open Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
It is incredible to imagine those colossal figures wedged into this narrow alley. Take your time looking around, then we can head toward the Carme Centre.
