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Tenerife Carnival 2009

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Traditionally carnival was the day of finishing up meat (carne va or meat goes) before the period of lent so families would have a big feast and often neighbours would be invited and as usual in Tenerife it didn’t take much to turn this into a general get together and fiesta with everyone taking to the streets to celebrate.
       The upper classes seeing all this revelry would have liked to join in, but class distinction would not allow it, until a few (no doubt younger) enthusiastic revellers hit upon the idea of going out into the streets to join in the merriment wearing masks to disguise their identity. As with all the various groups and entertainers in carnival they have their own group name, these particular incognitos are known as Mascarillas. They are accompanied by Murgas, satirical street bands, Comparsas, dance groups and Rondallas, groups of singers. These are not just groups of people getting together for a good time but dedicated club members, often with several generations involved, who work on costume making, fund raising and practicing routines all through the year.
        For an island that until very recently was very puritanical some of the costumes are little more than bikinis with feathered head dresses or see through tops with a couple of strategically placed stars. Nobody seems to mind or place any shame on young girls (or not so young in some cases) parading the streets for hours with little on and that which is covered getting well shaken in bountiful harmony.
        The choosing of the carnival queen is an all night, eagerly awaited, televised spectacle; the dresses for this are sponsored by various larger local companies with the costs running into many thousands of Euros. These dresses are used once only and the successful ones are often housed in especially built display rooms at or near to the receptions or showrooms of the sponsoring companies. Recently the organising committee has had to limit the overall size of the creations (dresses) many of which have wheels built in to assist the queen’s movement, yes honestly, take a good look at the photos and compare the height of the girls with the height and width of the dresses.
        As if a carnival queen wasn’t enough there are also competitions for the queen of seniors and a children’s queen. In some of the towns of Tenerife as well as other islands there is also a ‘drag queen of carnaval’ this hasn’t arrived in Santa Cruz yet but with the recent governmental proposals for legalised same sex marriages, who knows.
        Apart from the singing, dancing, parading and joking by organised groups there are also live bands and dancing in the open air for everyone most nights from around 2300 until daylight. There are official stalls all around the streets selling drinks and ‘tapas’ to the thirsty, hungry revellers, these stalls and their positions are bid for by tender each year and sell for amazing amounts of money to help offset the huge costs of carnival. All manner of other events are grouped under the banner of carnaval from football to clay pigeon shooting to vintage car rallies, there is literally something for everyone.
Carnival in Tenerife         Tenerife carnival is finished with the burial of the sardine; a huge papier-mache sardine is paraded through the city followed by hundreds of weeping ‘widows’ this gives the Tenerife male population one last chance to dress as widowed ladies, all in black, the only thing is that their idea of ‘widows weeds’ is mini dress and fishnet tights! Woe betide any good looking young tourist innocently watching proceedings, he’s likely to be showered with kisses from the widows. The sardine is then burnt accompanied by the inevitable massive firework display.
        It is said in Tenerife that nothing happens for two weeks before carnival because everyone is busy getting ready, then of course nothing can happen during carnival because companies only work a couple of hours a day so there is no time and after carnival nothing happens because everyone is recovering from carnival. Then Puerto de la Cruz starts it’s carnival, followed by Los Cristianos!

Enjoy Tenerife carnaval, it’s the third largest in the world.



Santa Cruz 2009

Tenerife Carnival 2009 – Carnaval de Tenerife 2009

The theme for this year’s Carnival in Santa Cruz is Horror Movies and celebrations will take place between the 4th February and 1st March.

This year’s Carnival poster “Monstrous Dancer”, which depicts Frankenstein wearing a tutu, was designed by Gonzalo Álvarez Fernández, a 36 year old artist originally from La Palma who moved to Tenerife as a teenager. The regular carnival-goer, who studied Fine Arts at La Laguna University, won the prize for best male costume at the Carnival in Santa Cruz back in 2001, which he designed and created himself.

The main carnival events are as follows:

4th, 5th & 6th February

8pm : Infant Murgas (comedy musical groups) competitions at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

Saturday 7th February

9pm : Musicak Group competition at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

Sunday 8th February

5pm : Gala for the Election of the Infant Carnival Queen at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

9th, 10th, 11th & 13th February 9pm : Adult Murgas competition at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

Thursday 12th February

5pm : Gala for the Election of Senior Citizen Carnival Queen at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

Saturday 14th February

5pm : Choreographic Festival at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

8pm : Comparsas (Dance Groups) Competition at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

Monday 16th February

9pm : “La Canción de la Risa” (The Laughing Song) at the Guimerá Theatre

Tuesday 17th February

9.30pm : Concert by the Lyrical Musical Group Los Fregolinos at the Guimerá Theatre

Wednesday 18th February

Grand Gala for the Election of Tenerife Carnival Queen 2009 at the International Fair and Congress Centre (Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos)

Friday 20th February

8pm : Carnival 2009 Opening Parade and the competition for the best dressed float/car.  Starting from Avenida de Bélgica and continuing on to Plaza de la República Dominicana, Avenida de la Asunción, Ramón y Cajal, Galcerán, Plaza Weyler, Méndez Núñez, Pilar, Villalba Hervás, La Marina and ending at Avenida Francisco La Roche.

At the end of the parade there will be a large firework display.

11pm : Dancing with performances from various bands

Saturday 21st February

6pm : Best Costume Competition for Adults and Children at the Plaza de la Candelaria

8pm : Rhythm and Harmony Comparsas (dance groups) competition at Avenida Francisco La Roche, Plaza de España and Avenida Marítima

11pm : Dancing with performances from various bands at Plaza del Príncipe and Plaza de la Candelaria

Sunday 22nd February

11am : Performance by the Aphilarmonic Ni fú – Ni fa at Plaza del Príncipe

12noon : Performance by the Lyrical Musical Group Los Fregolinos at Plaza del Príncipe

5pm : Rondalla  (string group) Competition at the Tenerife Auditorium

9pm : Dancing with performances by various bands at the Plaza de la Candelaria

Monday 23rd February

9pm : “La Oscuridad cubrirá Santa Cruz” (Darkness will cover Santa Cruz)

11pm – Dancing with performances by various bands at the Plaza del Príncipe

Tuesday 24th February

11am : Performance by the Aphilarmonic Ni fú – Ni fa at Plaza del Príncipe

12noon : Performance by the Lyrical Musical Group Los Fregolinos at Plaza del Príncipe

4pm : The Final “Coso Apoteosis” Parade will take place along the Avenida Francisco de la Roche, Plaza de España and Avenida Marítima

8pm : Dancing with performances by various bands at the Plaza de la Candelaria

Wednesday 25th February

9pm – Burial of the Sardine parade, starting from Calle Juan Pablo II and continuing on to Plaza Weyler, Méndez Núñez, Pilar, Villalba Hervás, La Marina and ending at Avenida Francisco La Roche

11pm : Dancing with performances by various bands at the Plaza de la Candelaria

Thursday 26th February

8.30pm : Festival of the Lyrical Muscial Group “La Zarzuela” from Círculo de Amistad XII de Febrero at the Guimerá Theatre

Friday 27th February

9pm : Dancing with performances by various bands at the Plaza de la Candelaria

Saturday 28th February

12 – 5pm : Daytime Carnival with star performances on the following stages: Plaza de La Candelaria, Plaza del Príncipe, Plaza de Europa and Calle Castillo

5pm : Murguero Saturday (in collaboration with the Tenerife Murgas Federation) at Plaza de la Iglesia de la Concepción, calle Candelaria and La Noria

6pm : Infant Carnival Parade at Calle Numancia, Pilar, Villalba Hervás and Plaza de La Candelaria

9pm : Dancing with performances by various bands at the Plaza de Príncipe and Plaza de la Candelaria

Sunday 1st March

10am : XXXVIII Grand Contest of Classic/Vintage/Veteran Cars in the City at García Sanabria Park. From 12 noon the cars will pass via the following route: Parque García Sanabria, Calle Numancia junction with Mendez Núñez, Numancia, Pilar, Plaza del Príncipe, Villalba Hervás, La Marina, Avenida Francisco La Roche and Avenida Marítima as far as Callejón Bouza, urban circuit and presentation at Restaurante Dragón de Oro, Avenida Francisco La Roche in the direction of San Andrés, and ending at the car park of the royal Nautical Club (real Club Náutico de Tenerife).

11am : Performance by the Aphilarmonic Ni fú – Ni fa at Plaza del Príncipe

12.30 : Performance by the Lyrical Muscial Group “La Zarzuela” from Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero at Plaza del Príncipe

5pm : Gran Finale of the 2009 Tenerife Carnival Celebrations at Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero

 

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Photos courtesy of Horizon Property Group

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