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Friday, September 14, 2007
Chronology of a Tenerife Village Fiesta
This is one of a continuing series of posts on these fiestas, continued at:
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 2
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 3
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 4
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 5
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 6
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 7
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 8
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 9
Tenerife Village Fiesta: Day 10
Day of Traditions in El Palmar
In towns and villages throughout Tenerife and the Canary Islands, the annual fiestas are a very important event in the social calendar.
In olden times, they were probably the best - and often only - opportunity young people got to find a mate and these fiestas are still very much a thanksgiving for the harvest.
Part carnival, part village fete, part harvest festival and part country show, the amount of organization that goes into these events - every village has its own association or committee of fiesta organizers - often seems quite disproportionate to the size of the population it aims to entertain.
In the case of the Grandes Fiestas in honor of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación 2007 in El Palmar, that's only about 620 of us, but especially in rural areas such as this, where until very recently, most people relied entirely on backbreaking subsistence farming, this once-yearly chance to really enjoy themselves was, and still is, fully appreciated.
They also want to share these celebrations with others and do themselves proud, so it's a matter of good hospitality to offer guests far more than they could possibly want. Preparations began a week ago with putting out the flags and, local authorities too make a point of saying that these old customs need to be preserved and act as tourist attractions.
All you need to do is come along, watch or participate and enjoy.
So, whilst normally, when I list events, I just pick out the major items from fiestas so that you could get a taste of what's going on and what it's about, since I have a copy of the superlative filled printed program for our village fiestas, I thought you might like to see a bit more of a Tenerife fiesta's typical lineup.
Over the next 10 days - the fiestas begin today and end on September 23rd with the wheat threshing - I'll cerealize serialize each days events.
Quite how many I will actually manage to attend, is another matter entirely, but I do hope to see some of it and get photos and, the list alone, I think, will be a worldwide internet exclusive in any language: :)
Fiesta Day 1 - Friday, September 14th
At 19:30 the Fanfarria del Puerto de la Cruz (this, I am reliably informed, is the carnival type of parade band, in costume) and the Comparsa Las Chicharacas (carnival type dance troupe) enter the village.
At 20:30 the Pregón (Proclamation) by the pregónero (this actually translates to town crier) - or, in this case pregónera, because it's a woman - proclaims the fiestas open for business with due ceremony, in company of the local mayor, Aurelio Abreu. These days, you seem to need a higher education for the job of fiesta crier. Ms Jessica Fortes Regalado, who lives in the district, has a degree in Philology (OK, it means a "love of words"), from the University of La Laguna. She wrote her thesis on the "lexico agrario" (farming terms) of the North West of Tenerife.
After that, there is to be a Gran Cabalgata (Carnival type cavalcade) through the streets of the village, "enjoying the good meat, wine and music." At the end of which, is a Gran Baile (Big Dance) to the band, Grupo Atlantic.
Fiestas El Palmar 2007 Photos
Labels: Fiestas El Palmar 2007
