Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Bitterness over Santa Cruz Carnaval Gala
Rafael Amargo (amargo, unfortunately, means bitter), the Spanish dancer who has been brought in to "reinvent" the Gala for the Selection of the Carnaval Queen in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, this year has attracted much criticism already from participants after it was revealed that he is to hold castings to choose only the best two or three from each group to perform for the public and international TV. Some even interpret it that "he does not want the fat ones, old ones or ones who can't dance."
And you can see where both sides are coming from. Carnavaleros are not professionals. Most of the year they are bank clerks, office workers, shop assistants or waiting staff. In their spare time, they practice their carnaval act, sew thousands of sequins and feathers on their Brazillian style "bottomless" costumes and look forward to their - utterly deserved - chance of three minutes fame at the end of it.
Many resent that "an outsider" - Amargo is Spanish, not Canarian - is meddling and say that, "The carnaval is ours." Whilst Amargo himself says that Canarians are very quick to defend themselves, without really understanding or seeing why.
One of the best things about carnaval in Tenerife, even the biggest one in Santa Cruz, is that it is so accessible to the public. If you want to feel part of it, all you have to do is to turn up in a costume and tack yourself onto the end of a parade. So many do. It isn't like a clinically distant "show" that one can merely observe.
Now, out in the street and in the parades, where most people are aware of the nature of carnaval and who and what is behind it, everyone is equal and no, nobody cares a hoot if you do happen to be fat, old or rhythmically challenged.
Clearly, what the authorities and organizers have contracted Amargo to do is to bring the gala up to the standards expected for international television, where viewers would not understand the carnavaleros amateur status. They would merely see it that "Tenerife puts on a amateurish show." A poor relation: something to laugh at.
Here, perhaps it needs "an outsider", as locals are too close to the carnaval to see, but at the end of the day, when it comes to presenting Tenerife to the world at large to attract visitors to the carnaval and to the island - that puts money in the pockets of the local people - these measures might be to everyone's benefit.
Labels: Carnaval
