Friday, March 10, 2006

Carnaval On The Small Scale

While Santa Cruz was once in the Guinness Book of Records for holding the biggest ever street party, over here at the other extreme of Tenerife, things are done on a much smaller scale.

Perhaps not preceded by processions, last Saturday, March 4, residents of the hamlet of Teno Alto (there are only 100 of them in total), just as they do in Santa Cruz for the end of carnival dance, held their traditional Piñata de Carnaval de Teno Alto.

Organized by the local community with the collaboration of Buenavista town hall, it is an authentic relic of Canarian folklore that continues to be maintained in the village.

The traditional baile de cuerdas (literally, dance of cords or ribbons), something like the Maypole dances in England, is a reminder of the origins of our carnivals.

One village man, Pedro González, has been in charge of making the piñata each year that gives the name to the dance, a tradition he has now carried out for more than 50 years.

Piñata de Carnaval de Teno Alto

Labels: Carnaval