Festive traditions in modernity: the public sphere of the festival of the'Fallas'in Valencia (Spain)

Festive sociability is central for the transmission of tradition and is fundamental field of interaction between the festive tradition and modernity. This sociability has a reflexivity and a public sphere of its own. The dominant modernist opposition between tradition and modernity is questioned with the help of a recent study of the Fire Festival of the‘Fallas’(Valencia. Spain).