Thursday, March 20, 2008
Tenerife Easter Eggs
So as Britain prepares for an Arctic Easter, what does Tenerife have in store for this year's Extreme Early Easter? (If you want to find out why it's early, read this.)
A Heavy Cross to Bear
The top Easter "attractions" here are the Passion Plays or The Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, V�a Crucis) that take place in various towns on the island and, which reenact scenes from the last hours of the life of Jesus Christ.
Only a short hop from your resort hotel, in Adeje is one of the largest and best examples of this amazing quality street theatre, with detailed performances by more than 300 actors. This takes place on Good Friday, from around mid-day, though you may want to get there a little earlier to get a good spot. The entire performance is in the streets and squares of the town, public buildings taking on new roles for the day. It's also important enough to get televised.
Candelaria too is staging a Representaci�n de la Pasi�n de Jes�s, in the town streets and plazas, again featuring a cast of hundreds, the Municipal Choir, the Band of Cornets and Drums, 40K watts of sound and 150K of lighting to recreate scenes such as; The Last Supper, the hanging of Judas and the Crucifiction.
On a smaller scale, on Saturday, 22nd March, approximately 30 local actors will present a Pasion Play at the farmers market in Santiago Del Teide.
Penitent Processions
Holy Thursday procession in Puerto de la Cruz. Photo: palestrina55This step-by-step guide to Semana Santa (Holy Week) in La Laguna may be in Spanish, but it has lots of illustrations of the various cofradias (brotherhoods); who dress in Klu Klux Klan style garb, plus photos of some of the icons that will be paraded during the processions.
The brotherhoods, which date to the 16th Century, are faithful catholics who follow a particular image of Chirst, the Virgin or a saint and it is the penitent type who parade at Easter. More from the Holy Thurdsay parade in Puerto de la Cruz 
Semana Santa events in Santa Cruz and La Laguna (in Spanish)
El Via Crucis de Icod de los Vinos, made by Tenerife artist, Santiago Gonz�lez Arbelo, known for his work on nativity scenes, is a model that represents the life of Christ, from birth to Crucifiction, in miniature. It's on display in the Casa de los C�ceres, near the church in Icod de los Vinos, until March 30th.
Meanwhile, the Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz is offering more secular Easter activities, including their annual corral de los conejitos (bunny enclosure) and other diversions for both grown-ups and children, until March 23rd.
Eggstra Easter Patrols
Take extra care while driving on the islands' this weekend, as there are a total of 351 Civil Guard officers taking part in special Easter patrols on Canary Islands' roads (in Tenerife, especially on the TF-1 and TF-5 motorways) starting today, Thursday, March 20th. And, in the fight against excess speed and alcohol abuse, their surprise feature, is radar and 9 unmarked cars at their disposal.
You thought Spring here was Eternal?
Spring Sprung too today in the northern hemisphere - Tenerife is about 28� North - but, it's already known as the "Island of Eternal Spring", because it enjoys a mild temperature all year round. Blossoms and spring flowers do appear at this time of year and, in theory, we should be getting into the drier season now. In theory, she says, so as not to tempt fate! :) So the BBC forecast rain for Monday, but that's not a bank holiday here. Today and tomorrow, Good Friday are.
OK, so there won't be that many Easter Eggs in Tenerife, except in stores serving visitors and expat residents, but who needs them when the "Easter Surprise" is a temperature of around 20 degrees?
1 Comments:
We have similar processions here on La Palma. In their way, they're spectacular.
I believe the costumes are to stop your neighbours recognising you and admiring your piety.
Of course the KKK had a different reason for hiding their faces.