Thursday, January 04, 2007
Carnaval in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2006
Carnaval photos are one thing, but being there is better. This video takes you one step closer to the reality, showing a few scenes - just a tantalising four minutes from various hours, complete with scanty costumes and bouncing boobies - from last year's "Coso", Carnaval parade in the streets of Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz.
Details and dates for Carnaval 2007 Santa Cruz
Tags: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Canarias
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Eqyptian Artist to Design Carnaval Posters
ABC report that Egyptian artist, Karim Rashid (website), is to design the posters for Tenerife capital's Santa Cruz Carnaval 2007. Fiesta organizers announced that they have entrusted the work to the international industrial designer.
Rashid, who lives in New York, was born in Cairo in 1960 and educated in England, Canada and Italy. He's known for a style described as "sensual minimalism" (he also designs a line of upmarket "erotic appliances") and has worked with Giorgio Armani, Tommy Hilfinger, Prada, Lacoste and Yahoo.
Some of his most representative works are the decorations at the Marimoto Restaurant in Philadelphia, the Hotel Semiramis in Athens and the Hotel Nooh in New York. His recently published book called Design Your Self, explains how to improve all areas of life. (Now, even how to party!)
El artista egipcio Karim Rashid diseñará el cartel del carnaval de Santa Cruz
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Tenerife, the best Carnaval in the World
The magazine called our Carnaval "the most spectacular and safe" of all those celebrated and because it has become an important springboard for artists to launch their careers in Spain. The magazine awarded the prize to the councillor responsible for the Tenerife Carnaval, Bruno Piqué, at an event celebrated at the Betsy Ross Hotel on Ocean Drive on Miami's famous South Beach on Wednesday.
Tenerife, el mejor Carnaval del mundo, según la revista Fama
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Friday, September 08, 2006
Burying Sardines in Buenavista
It's incredible to think that we are talking about Carnaval again, when summer isn't over yet - at least here it isn't - but it does have to be planned ahead, especially if you are participating or coming to the island from abroad to see any of the grand spectacle. If you are thinking of coming, you want to know what you can expect to see.
While we've shown you photos of Carnaval Queens and revelries in the streets, something that I was not aware of is that the most curious of the Carnaval celebrations the Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) is, "without doubt", says this site, "one of the most popular fiestas" in Buenavista.
The Burial of the Sardine is an entirely OTT, blasphemous funeral which symbolically marks the end of the festivities. The "deceased" is followed by a cortege of wailing widows; men dressed up like pantomime dames - as you can see (we hope even their mothers would not know them) - and who are "on the game". And Marchaymas.com have HEAPS photos to prove it!
They also have more photos from the Romeria in Garachico this year, Shakira's concert a few weeks ago and many other animated events in and around the area. Never let it be said that folk don't know how to have a good time here! :)
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Carnaval 2006 in Santa Cruz, Tenerife
One photo that I particularly recommend is this rear view of one of the "Maids of Honour" to the queen. Bear in mind that an equal sized front to this replica galleon was the other side and, that the circular, feathered and gilded vertical part was in the region of 12 feet high and you begin to get a real sense of just how spectacularly outrageous and fantastic and beautiful, these things are. Actually, that costume was my personal favorite this year.
There are 160 pictures in all, which should keep you amused for a while. :)
Carnaval 2006, Carnaval, Cabalgata Anunciadora
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Monday, March 13, 2006
Carnaval 2006 Photos
In the absence of first hand carnaval photos from yours truly, how about everyone else's submissions to Las Palmas' newspaper, La Provincia? Although this leans towards the eastern province, rather than Tenerife, there are images that you won't see elsewhere, including of Gran Canaria's Drag Queen.
Carnaval 2006 Photos
Labels: Carnaval 2006
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 2006
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Rebandas de Carnaval
In much the same way that the British traditionally eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to use up items in the kitchen before Lent begins tomorrow, this is the Canarian equivalent.
Ingredients:
1 'yesterday's' Canarian loaf (pan normal) - any crusty white bread like a French stick or baguette will do just as well, 1 egg, 1 cup of milk approx., Sugar, Sprinkle of ground cinnamon.
Method:
Slice the bread into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and discard the ends. Beat the egg, milk and cinnamon together in a bowl then soak the bread slices briefly in the mixture. Lift them carefully and fry gently in oil in a shallow frying pan, turning once. Remove when golden, arrange on a plate and sprinkle with sugar.
This a great way to use up stale bread at any time.
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Santa Cruz Carnaval Parade Suspended by the Bad Weather in Tenerife
Keeping an eye on search terms that visitors use to reach this site, leads me to believe that the top items of interest are the Carnaval in Santa Cruz and the weather in Tenerife.
With the "Coso" Apoteosis del Carnaval, main parade, supposed to have been happening this afternoon in Santa Cruz, I can tell you that the same God who decides the weather for August bank holidays in Britain has been at work here in Tenerife today. It is generally the case that it will rain at least once during Carnaval week, but this is the first time in my 14 years on the island that I have known the weather to be so uncooperative as to cause the suspension of events.
The islands continue on alert because of high winds again - currently reported to be around 80 kmph. Waves have reached heights of three to five meters in Tenerife, whilst on the north coast of El Hierro, reached a record height of eight meters.
In Santa Cruz de La Palma, 24 inter-island flights had to be cancelled. Over here on the north west of Tenerife it has been tipping it down with buckets of rain this afternoon and, by my standards, it is freezing at around 12 degrees centigrade.
Reports in the local media confirmed that the main parade of Carnaval has been suspended today and it is hoped that the parade will now be held on Saturday, March 4th, instead.
Have a thought for those poor girls in their Brazillian style bare-bottomed costumes and, with all the feathers they wear, they were probably worried about them catching avian flu!
Tags: Tenerife, Canarias, Canary Islands, Carnaval
Labels: Carnaval 2006, Tenerife Weather
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Santa Cruz Carnaval Queen 2006
The gala ended only about half an hour ago and the quality is not great because these were taken right from the TV. Still, if you've never seen this spectacle before, it will give you some idea and particularly the size of these costumes.
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Santa Cruz Carnaval 2006 Events
This is, by no means, a complete list of all Carnaval events, but those which, I believe, to be of most interest to an English speaking visitor and generally casual onlooker. Labels: Carnaval 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
21:30 - Gala for the Selection of the Carnaval Queen 2006
This colorful event, to be held tonight in the Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos de Tenerife will be televised internationally. It is probably best seen on TV too, to see close ups of the costumes. This gala is really the last in a long line of selection processes that have already taken place to choose the best dance troops and musical groups, etc. These also set the order they should participate in the forthcoming parades.
Friday, February 24, 2006
20:00 - The "Announcing" Parade of Carnaval
Now that all the participants and winners have been chosen, this parade announces the start of Carnival celebrations proper. There is a firework display at the end of the parade.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
16:00 - "Coso" Apoteosis del Carnaval
This is THE main parade of Carnaval along the Avenida de Anaga and Avenida Marítima alongside the seafront and port in Santa Cruz. Fireworks again follow, scheduled for 21:00. This parade will also be televised internationally, details here.
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
21:00 - Burial of the Sardine
How does one explain this? It is a sacrilegious, surreal and sarcastic parade where you are likely to find men and women dressed up as Catholic clergy and men dressed up in drag as "wailing widows". Just in case you think that you've run into a cross-dressers' convention or a Gay Pride march, it is not. They all follow the funeral procession of the poor unfortunate effigy of a huge sardine, which symbolizes the "death" or end of Carnaval (well, sort of) and start of Lent.
There is a good description, in which you will discover the secret of Carnaval and, particularly the Burial of the Sardine in this article in the Guardian, Carnaval Queen.
Saturday, March 4, 2006
18:00 - Coso Infantil
This is a separate main parade for all the junior Carnaval participants, the Kid's Parade, in which the place of honour will be held by the Reina Infantil (Junior Queen). Click here for photos of this year's winner and her court. Though perhaps a little more pedestrian than the grown-up parades, which you may prefer also, I think this is one of the best days.
Sunday, March 5, 2006
10:00 - XXXVI Concourse of Classic Cars
Or, "Old Crocks Day", as I like to colloquially name it, which is particularly apt this year as it falls on my birthday. :) Look for the old crocks, the vehicular ones, not myself, in the Plaza de la Iglesia (Church Square) and Calle La Noria. After assembling, they will make a very noisy circuit of the city streets.
There is also a Gran Fin de Fiesta del Carnaval 2006 party at 17:00 and, of course, a farewell firework display, which is slated to begin at 22:00. If the Burial of the Sardine didn't really mark the end of Carnaval, does this? Well, to repeat myself yet again, only sort of! All it really means is the end, for this year, of the Carnaval celebrations in Santa Cruz. It all just moves along to Puerto de La Cruz, Los Cristianos and just about every other town on the island for at least another couple of weeks.
And, since there is always next year's Carnaval to plan, dances and songs to rehearse, costumes to have 1000's of sequins and feathers sewn on ... I really doubt that Carnaval ever ends.
More information:
Times, of course, in the Canary Islands, are always very approximate, however, with the advent of televising most of the main events, they are getting more precise.
A full list of events (in Spanish) can be found at the Official Carnaval site. There are other small parades and, of course, dances in the streets most nights starting at 23:00 on Friday - now that the judge decided they could go ahead.
There is also the nightly fun fair and have a heart for the snack food stall holders that you will find, mostly around the central Plaza de España. They will have paid up to tens of thousands of Euros in the auction to secure the prime locations and the pleasure of overcharging you! But, it is a party, after all. :)
How to get there on the bus.
Can't make it this year?
If you are planning ahead to come to Santa Cruz Carnaval in a future year, you can always count on the "Coso", main parade, being on the Shrove Tuesday. Once you have the calendar for the year in question, this should be easy to find or work out.
It is also a fair bet to assume that the announcing parade will be held on the previous Friday night and the Gala for the selection of the Queen, on the Wednesday, two days prior to that. The the Kid's Parade, likewise has always been on the following Saturday and the Old Crocks on the Sunday.
The one to watch is the Burial of the Sardine, which has been known to be moved and held on the following Friday instead.
Tags: Tenerife, Canarias, Carnival, Carnaval
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Carnaval On The Busses
Going to the Santa Cruz Carnaval in person?
Apart from the fact that parking is a joke in Santa Cruz at the best of times and it is obviously safer to leave the wheels at home if you intend to imbibe a beverage or two, actually, half the fun of an outing to Carnaval can be had on the bus.
Oh yes, I can cast my mind back to the year that, dressed as a musketeer, complete with high boots, cape and big hat with a feather, I passed a few enjoyable minutes engaged in a plastic sword fight on the bus with a complete stranger. :)
Every year, Tenerife bus company TITSA (no, that is NOT the Spanish branch of Trotters Independent Trading) lay on extra busses for Carnaval dates, including the famous 111 Playa de las Americas route, running right through until 4.30 a.m.
Download a special Carnaval 2006 timetable (PDF) here.
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Tenerife Carnaval on the Tele
Many of you not in the Canary Islands may be interested in discovering what our spectacular annual Carnaval is all about and, thanks to the international channel of our local TV station, tvCanaria, I think you should be able to see for yourselves.
Tomorrow night, Wednesday, February 22 sees what I believe is the biggest event with the widest appeal - that of the Gala for the Selection of the Carnaval Queen 2006.
The truly magnificent, outrageous and enormous, colorful costumes are well worth seeing and you really don't need to understand Spanish to be able to appreciate them.
Locally, this is being shown live at 9.30 p.m. On the international channel, it appears that it will be going out later, at 01.30 a.m. GMT (i.e. Thursday morning). That would equate to 2.30 a.m. in Central Europe, but still appear to be 9.30 p.m. in Venezuela where the broadcast is primarily aimed, 8.30 p.m. US Eastern.
You should be able to look up the details of Wednesday's programming here, once it is published.
In Europe, you can find tvCanaria on Astra:
Satélite: ASTRA 1E
Diameter of antena: Canarias 90 cm, Europe 60 cm.
Transpondedor: 34
Frecuencia: 10.979 MHz
Polarización: Vertical
Symbol Rate: 22.000
FEC: 5/6
In America, via Hispasat:
Satélite: Hispasat 1C
Posición orbital: 30º W
Download frequency: 12.172 MHz
Polaridad: Horizontal
Symbol Rate: 27.500
FEC: 3/4
Service name: C. Canarias TV
More details of frequencies and stuff here.
I am assuming all of that will mean something to those of you who have satellite TV. Does it show that I do not? I shall be watching, via a wire coat hanger! No, I'm not kidding. :)
On Tuesday, February 28th (Shrove Tuesday), the "Coso" Apoteosis del Carnaval or main parade will be taking place and I am certain this one will be televised internationally as well. The parade begins at 4 p.m. GMT in Santa Cruz, but I don't yet know the timing of the international broadcast.
If you get to watch any of this from "the outside", do let us know what you think of it and, if you can explain this better than I can, please do so by posting a comment!
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Santa Cruz Carnaval Goes Ahead
Good news for the Carnaval in Tenerfe's capital as Santa Cruz' Mayor, Miguel Zerolo, expressed his satisfaction yesterday at the judge's decision to find against the recent claim brought by a group of residents, asserting that the Carnaval is illegal.
No details given as to what grounds the judge, Jaime Guilarte Martín-Calero, used to throw out the case, however in a press conference, Zerolo said that the judge had acted wisely against the "hot potato" that should never have reached court and, that residents can celebrate Carnaval "as our parents and grandparents did, with no problems whatsoever."
El juez desestima el recurso que pedía la suspensión cautelar del Carnaval la capital tinerfeña
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Carnaval is Illegal?
THE most emblematic and important date on Tenerife's fiesta calendar, no, in the world (after Rio) - Santa Cruz Carnaval - is illegal, according to residents of eight neighborhoods of the island's capital, who, through their lawyer, have presented a claim in the courts aiming to prevent the carnaval from being celebrated in the zones in which they reside.
Reporter, Bernardo Sagastume at ABC has the details.
The matter also made the TV news today and, I have to say, that I just HOPE it is some kind of sick joke or a publicity stunt to create interest in the Carnaval itself. Well, that is more comfortable to contemplate than that it may be serious.
Goodness, this is not the fun-loving image of Canarians that we have come to expect, is it? What a bunch of party poopers!
Now, I will be the first to admit that when there is a fiesta going on in your village and the salsa music is still making the legs of your bed dance in rhythm at 5 a.m., night after night, but you work in a job that doesn't respect the local holidays, then it can be a tad inconvenient, but you live with it.
Sure, the celebrations can be moved to another location, but there is always going to be someone within earshot ready to be disturbed, unless you move the party to mars!
Besides, it was my impression that most employers on the island understand that people will be late and not a lot gets done during Carnaval. Or is the island becoming more "efficient" and that such relaxed attitudes have become a thing of the past?
It is a VERY sad day, if that is the case.
A culture that knows how to enjoy itself is much healthier, both physically and mentally and, for that reason alone, I think it is extremely important to preserve these customs.
I wonder if the residents of Santa Cruz would prefer a Carnival on the London model, where there is (or at least there was) a 7 p.m. curfew? On the surface, that may sound great to sleep-deprived residents, until you look at the balance.
Curfews and prohibitions - that require a large police presence to enforce - lead to just the sort of tensions between party-goers and the authorities that have been known to end in riots in the British capital, but that so far, have been avoided in Tenerife, despite the large numbers who attend each year.
It may be a case of "be careful what you ask for", because the solution may be more disruptive than the original problem.
Since I am no lawyer, I cannot say whether the legislation they are quoting applies to this particular event, however, my guess would be that Carnaval is too important from the economic point of view for the action to succeed.
From what I understand of Carnaval's history, the tradition originally came to the islands with the conquistadores 500 years ago, although it is true that neither the authorities nor the church approved and dances in the streets were prohibited.
But, such was the strength of the public desire to celebrate the fiestas, that even after the Civil War (1936-1939) and the prohibition in the time of Franco, people continued to celebrate Carnival in their homes, until the 1960's when the party returned to the streets under the disguise of "Winter Festival".
It wasn't until 1976 that, finally, without the censorship that characterized the dictatorship that it was actually able to be called Carnaval and the event reached it's zenith.
Surely, no one wants to turn back the clock?
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Friday, December 30, 2005
Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2006
The creator of the poster for the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnaval 2006 is Karina Beltrán, an artist born in Buenavista in 1968. Karina obtained a degree in Fine Arts at the University of La Laguna in 1991 and a Postgraduate Diploma at the Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2001, where a year later, she also obtained her Master in Fine Arts. Karina currently lives and works in London.
Creadora del Cartel del Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2006
Labels: Carnaval 2006
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Carnaval To Commence In October
There are times when it seems like Tenerife's most important annual event never ends, because as soon as one year's Carnaval ends, then preparations for the next need to begin. It probably takes all year to stick on the feathers and sew the sequins on the costumes alone.
And, indeed, the councillor of Fiestas yesterday proposed that shopkeepers and official Carnaval groups hold a masked ball on Saturday, October 29 to "fire the starting pistol" for the official preparations for the 2006 Carnaval in February.
It is to be a grand, end of summer ball at which the 2006 Carnaval poster design will be presented and the organizers will award a prize of a holiday for two to Venice for the most original mask.
El Carnaval comienza en octubre
Labels: Carnaval 2006
