As tonight is the Gala de Elección de la Reina (Gala to Elect the Carnaval Queen) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, here's a last chance to have a look at all of the candidates from 2009.

Radio Televisión Canaria will be showing the gala, which should also be available to viewers outside the island online.

Labels: Carnaval 2009, Carnaval 2010

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You might think it's a bit early to be preparing even for next year's Carnaval, but we really do have a l list of Tenerife Carnaval dates right through to the middle of the century for you - to the year 2050. Tenerife has a poor reputation where events are seldom publicised sufficiently in advance - hopeless when you need to book flights, hotels or holidays, months ahead - so this guide hopes to partially overcome that problem and should provide just enough notice to satisfy even the most fervently obsessive of forward planners.

(We left last year's and this years on to show you that the theory works.)

The key date for Carnaval Events in Tenerife is Shrove Tuesday, which is when the Gran Coso Apoteosis - Carnaval's Main Parade - takes place in the capital, Santa Cruz. This is the same day as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, so we've borrowed their dates and added them to the Carnival Calendar at PuntoInfo.

Many of the other events follow a regular pattern backward or forward from that date. At least they do, mostly, in Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz. We had hoped to include the Los Cristianos Carnaval dates in this table too, but we discovered that arrangements there are more of a moving target than a moveable feast, so it isn't possible to predict their timetable with the same certainty.

Any Year Tenerife Carnaval Schedule

• The Wednesday BEFORE Shrove Tuesday: Gala for the Election of the Carnaval Queen. This event is a huge evening gala, usually lasting for hours and is probably best seen on TV - if the costumes will fit into your screen!
• The Friday BEFORE Shrove Tuesday: Once it has it's Queen, Santa Cruz Carnaval takes to the streets on the Friday evening, with the Cabalgata Anunciadora (Announcing Parade), followed by the obligatory fireworks.
• Shrove Tuesday: (Carnaval Tuesday): The Coso Apoteosis (Main Parade) along the front at Santa Cruz (the Avenida de Anaga and Marítima), from around 4 p.m. Terminates in a great firework display at around 9.p.m.
• Ash Wednesday: Burial of the Sardine. This takes place in both Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz on the same night, so you have a choice. Either way, it's essential for men to dress up as "Widows" to mourn the poor old defunct sardine and generally have a blasphemous night of it.
• The Saturday AFTER Shrove Tuesday: For those who prefer a more pedestrian view of Carnaval: parades without quite so much revelry, I recommend the Coso Infantil (Junior Parade) in Santa Cruz. The Saturday is also the day of the Main Carnaval Parade in Puerto de la Cruz.
• The Sunday AFTER Shrove Tuesday: Sunday morning the Gran Concurso en la Ciudad de Automóviles Antiguos, which is when some really beautiful classic cars parade around the city.

Those are the main "spectator sport" events that I believe you could be interested in seeing as a casual visitor. In the run up to the Carnaval, there are many other contests and events involving all the various singing and dancing troupes that form part of the Carnaval and, of course, alongside all of this is the fun fair, the food stalls, orchestras, dancing and concerts that go on in the streets until dawn ... and, just when you think it's all over, it all moves on to Los Cristianos, Los Gigantes and many other towns a week or two later.

Getting to Carnaval in Santa Cruz

If you're staying in the south of Tenerife, there's no problem as extra buses are laid on each year, even during the night, which will take Carnaval goers between Playa de las Americas / Los Cristianos and Santa Cruz. Don't take a car, because there will be nowhere to park it. Catch the 111 bus from Las Americas bus station or Los Cristianos and enjoy the journey that's an extension of the party!

Where to stay in Tenerife for Carnaval

Anywhere you might usually stay, such as the resorts on the south of the island.

However, if you're coming to Tenerife for the express reason of going to Carnaval, then you may as well stay right in the thick of things, so you can sleep by day, just falling out of your hotel into the street in the afternoon or evening when there are parades or events you want to go to.

In Santa Cruz, we can recommend, because we've stayed there, the Hotel Pelinor. It may only have 2 stars (don't expect a high level of English), but it's clean and has everything you need for the purpose. If you must go the the beach, Las Teresitas is just up the road.

There are other hotels in Santa Cruz listed here.

What to wear to Carnaval?

You can wear anything you like and nothing is too risque, although people not in costume / fancy dress are the odd ones out. Each year, each carnaval has a theme, but it is not necessary to follow that unless you wish to do so. If you're a man, it's almost obligatory to dress up as a woman - however unconvincingly: excess hair need not be removed - and cross-dressing is essential when attending The Burial of the Sardine.

DISCLAIMER: Of course, all of these details are subject to changes that are way beyond our control. Hopefully, Carnaval will continue in more or less the same manner for the foreseeable future, especially when you consider that it has already overcome prohibitions during dictatorships and survived for more than 200 years and possibly as many as 400, but nothing is guaranteed.

We've taken great care to check dates and take leap years into account when working out the dates of the various parades, but we accept no responsibility for errors (probably due to going cross-eyed.) Use this as a guide and double-check nearer to your dates of travel for best results. Batteries not included.

Labels: Carnaval 2008, Carnaval 2009

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Can go dressed just like daddy! 

And, unlike in other locations in the over-sensitive, PC world, nothing sinister is read into such fun. 

Photo from Aalborg Carnival, who have a whole set of images from Santa Cruz: Carnaval & children - Carnaval Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Set), as well as sets from the “Coso” Apoteosis del Carnaval - Tenerife 2009, the Reina del Carnaval 2009 - Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Carnival floats 2009.

More carnaval photos; Carnaval 2009 - Coso Apoteosis, Carnavales, Carnaval on Tenerife 2009.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Carnaval is taking place in Los Cristianos this weekend. Their main parade is from 5 p.m., Sunday, March 15th, from Aptos. Paloma Beach, via the Avenida Juan Carlos I, ending at the Fair's Enclosure (by the Valdés Center.) Afterwards, there's the Carnival Dance with Orchestra Wamampy in the Fair's Enclosure.

Meanwhile, San Miguel de Abona have their carnaval today, Saturday, March 14th, with a carnaval procession starting at 5 p.m.

And Granadilla de Abona also have their carnaval parade this afternoon, Saturday, March 14th, starting at 5.30 p.m.

Later, at 7 p.m. in Los Cristianos, there's the Pasacalles del Carnaval (Passacaglia derives from the Spanish pasear (to walk) and calle (street): the streetwalking (in the non-prostitute sense), in question being a less formal procession.

From 11 p.m., Los Cristianos hosts a Carnaval Ball with the orchestra, Sensación Gomera in the Fair's Enclosure (in front of the Valdés Center.)

On Monday, Monday, March 16th, 2009. 20:00 hours. Burial of the Sardine parade, leaving from Los Cristianos Cultural Center, to the Los Cristianos beach.

Via: Tinerguia. Photo: raymondo182

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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With Carnaval, in Santa Cruz at least, having ended (sniff) yesterday for 2009 (no doubt sequins will be being sewn on costumes and dances rehearsed shortly for 2010), we bring you a roundup from this year's events, mostly illustrated ...

Many many more photos here of Carnaval Queen, Ana María Tavarez Mata.

Carnaval kicked off with the Cabalgata Anunciadora (photos) on the evening of Friday, February 20th. Around 5,000 people participated and more than 70,000 packed the streets of Santa Cruz to see the multicolor display.

On Shrove Tuesday, February 24th, 5,000 people took part in the main parade of Carnaval in Santa Cruz, with an estimated 120,000 spectators lining the streets to see the parade that started shortly after 4 p.m. Here's a collection of magnificent photos of the Coso Apoteosis (Main Parade) 2009. Near the end of the parade are the Carnival Floats 2009, every one of them a work of art.

This 11 minute video of highlights from the main parade - Rudy y Ruymán who present it: two Tenerife lads who are "famous" for, er, I dunno, something to do with TV contests, seem REALLY keen on pointing the camera at themselves, but because of that, not despite it, they take you right into the parade at street level and that makes you feel like you're part of it rather than just watching.

On Wednesday, February 25th, Santa Cruz celebrated the traditional funeral for it's sardine, attended by thousands of "widows, nuns and curates". The paper-mâché and cardboard figure of the fish, a work carried out by Luis Eduardo Fierro, measured 5.5 meters long and 3 meters high. The note says that the town hall wanted to underline the fact that no plastic was used in the construction, to reduce the damage that burning it would cause to the ozone layer.

200,000 people (getting close to the quarter of a million at Tenerife Carnaval's Guinness World Record feat in 1987) turned up for the daytime carnaval concerts on Saturday, February 28th to see Craig David, amongst others.

More video: The Canarian Desynchronised Swimming Team! :)

Reports from the Carnaval Hospital ...

Say this year, at least 598 people (goodness knows why they didn't say "about 600") were attended at the Carnaval Hospital (the field hospital put up each year), which, when you consider that there were; 70,000 people attending the opening parade on Friday, February 20th; around 40,000 for the Dance Carnaval night on Monday, February 23rd; at least 120,000 for the main parade on Shrove Tuesday and as many as 200,000 on Saturday, 600 is a very small number.

And, no surprises here, the principal causes for "hospital admission" (more like needing first aid) were alcohol and drug intoxications in 293 of the cases.

During the daytime Carnaval de Día, only 20 people needed medical assistance, only one of those owing to alcohol. The number of people needing attention on the last night of carnaval, however, doubled this year from 66 in 2008 at 132 in 2009. Of those; 62 adults and 9 minors were drunk or high; 19 people fell over, 13 had common ailments and only 20 had anything to do with aggression. On any ordinary Saturday night in any British town, there would be many more!

It's tempting to be cynical and assume they're just not reporting the whole truth, but remember I've been amongst these celebrations enough times to know - and I've gone alone, a woman, at night and not felt under any threat.

As Islandmomma says, of the Santa Cruz Carnaval, "It is remarkable for its good nature and lack of crime. Of course, there is crime, but nothing like the level you might expect of that you hear of in other places." We hear that!

Operatives from the town hall collected 218 tons of rubbish in the first few days of the Carnaval - Santa Cruz would never cope with fortnightly collections!

Carnaval celebrations elsewhere in Tenerife ...

This street theatre event was apparently started in 1992 to attract the crowds back to the Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) and draws upon traditions related to witchcraft and the belief that witches can transform themselves into donkeys to be able to carry out their spells. Of course.

As in all good witchcraft stories, the witches are eventually condemned to the bonfire - this time along with the unfortunate sardine - on the orders of the Bishop, who arrived with the Inquisition.

As Tenerife Matters say, "Sounds like a typical Friday night in Güímar then."

In Puerto de la Cruz, Going Native at Tenerife Carnaval means:

"When a giant sardine with long blond hair and fluttering false eyelashes starts bearing down on you it means one of two things - it's time to give up the alcohol, or it's the surreal Burial of the Sardine which is a major part of Carnaval across Tenerife."

Image titles: 1. Reina del Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2009, 2. Not available, 3. CABALGATA CARNAVAL SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 2009, 4. Not available, 5. Not available, 6. Not available, 7. DSC_0376, 8. DSC_0390_01, 9. DSC_0397_01, 10. Not available, 11. Not available, 12. Entre guiris, nativos y demás..., 13. Not available, 14. Fuegos Carnaval de Día Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2009, 15. _N014913, 16. Clásicos en el parque.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Carnaval Tuesday, the big day in Santa Cruz and the weather was relatively kind for the Coso Apoteosis - the Main Parade - which took place in the afternoon under a dull, but thankfully dry sky, given that a pre-alert is in place for possible rain throughout the Canary Islands.

If you've missed it, the Main Carnaval Parade will take place in Santa Cruz on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010.

In La Orotava, in the morning, the XXXVII (I make that 37th) Rally of Classic Cars took place, which later went on display in Puerto de la Cruz.

Meanwhile, at 9.30 p.m. in Puerto de la Cruz, there's the Gala Trans-gresora 2009, which has nothing to do with transgressions and everything to do with cross-dressing. Mind you, I thought Carnaval was ALL about cross-dressing.

And as Tenerife Matters say here, "Expect a lot of fun, a lot of bitchin and a soundtrack which will probably include 'It's Raining Men', 'I Will Survive' and 'I Am What I Am'." (Or Yo Viviré, which is 'I Will Survive', in Spanish, sung by Celia Cruz and I'll just mention it because it's better than the original. :)

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Last night, after two rainy setbacks, the weather gods decided to give Puerto de la Cruz’ Carnaval a break and the stars shone down from a clear sky on the grand Gala to elect this year’s Carnaval Queen.

The deserving winner was the delightful Elsa Eichner representing Casino Taoro in her costume (more like work of art) Gota a gota.

Mederso Martin was crowned first dame of honour with Naira Rodríguez, Desiré Regalado and Katia Rodríguez being chosen second, third and fourth dames of honour respectively.

The firework display which announced the crowning of the Carnaval Queen was also the signal for the band to start tuning up in Plaza Charco and for the DJs in the dances area to power up their sound systems as the surreal milling throng of smurfs, vampires, pirates, witches, etc., were able to finally start to celebrate Carnaval 2009 in earnest.

Jack Montgomery, co-author of Going Native in Tenerife and Real Tenerife Island Drives, was reporting direct from Puerto de la Cruz, where dedication to duty (or something) kept them out at this event until 5 a.m., apparently.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Puerto de la Cruz Carnaval suffered an early change to the published program yesterday, when their Gala for the selection of the Carnaval Queen, usually held on the Thursday night, had to be postponed due to bad weather. The Gala should now be taking place tonight, Friday, February 20th, but I guess that again, it depends on the rain.

The revised 2009 program (the main events anyway) is as follows:

• Friday, 20th February: Gala for the Election of the 2009 Carnival Queen
• Saturday, 21st February: Proclamatory Parade
• Wednesday, 25th February: Funeral of the Sardine
• Friday, 27th February: Men's Marathon in High Heels
• Saturday, 28th February: Coso - Main Parade (4 pm)

In addition to those, starting from tonight, each and every night until Saturday, February 28th, inclusive (except Thursday), there's a Gran Baile (dance) in the Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo, from 10 p.m. onwards.

We managed to see some of the Coso, Carnaval Parade in Puerto de la Cruz last year and the weather was doing funny stuff then too. Andrea Montgomery writes about her and Jack's experiences at Carnaval in Puerto de la Cruz here.

For future planning purposes, the dates of Carnaval in Puerto de la Cruz are one of the very rare examples in Tenerife that - barring disturbances for the weather and other things beyond the control of mere mortals - follows a regular and predictable pattern.

Normally kicking off on the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday, the Burial of the Sardine is on the correct day, Ash Wednesday and Carnaval celebrations come to a climax with the main parade on the Saturday after Shrove Tuesday.

However, Andrea Montgomery says that the high heels drag obstacle race is rapidly becoming the favourite Carnaval event in Puerto and is always worth seeing. She also says that it's outrageously politically incorrect and, since correctness is so way out of hand, take that as a recommendation!

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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On Carnaval Monday, February 23rd, 2009, the Bulan Restaurante Chill-Out, C/ Antonio Domínguez Alfonso (La Noria) No 35, 38003 Santa Cruz De Tenerife. (Tel: 922 274 116) are having a Fiesta de la Cerveza (Beer Festival) and from midnight to 2 a.m. they'll be having free beer to give the crisis a kick up the bum.   See map.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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More would, I'm sure, but for that to happen, a bit of advance notice would be handy, you know, because people need to give employers notice to book time off from their jobs, therefore they need to book their flights, hotels or holidays, months in advance ...

And failing some advance publicity (and we don't mean just posters inside the town, "preaching to the choir"), maybe stick to a regular schedule?

Nah, frustratingly, Arona has never heard of these alien concepts.

After translating the program for a reader the other day, I thought I'd go through the archives to see if a pattern would emerge that would allow us to say "take the date of XYZ and add XX days ..." to arrive at a method for people to predict when these fiestas would take place each year. I thought it did, but it doesn't work.

Taking the dates of Shrove Tuesday (the most reliable and verifiable point in the Carnaval calendar) and the dates of the main parade of Los Cristianos carnaval (which is the event that is probably of most interest to spectators) over the last few years - those few I could find online - plus the date listed in this year's program, I plotted how many days there were between the two dates.

As you can see from the table above, usually, the Los Cristianos carnaval main parade happens 12 days after Shrove Tuesday, i.e. the second Sunday after "Pancake Day" for those who've forgotten what Shrove is about elsewhere.

And then they go and muck things up, because this year it's all happening a week later, with the main parade 19 days after Shrove Tuesday instead.

The good news is that the basic format for the core 5 days of the Los Cristianos carnaval did not seem to vary in all of those years, being:

• Thursday. Gala election of the Junior Carnaval Queen.
• Friday. Carnival Ball for the Senior Citizens and Grand Gala election of the Carnaval Queen.
• Saturday. Carnaval Ball.
• Sunday 5 p.m. ish. Gran Coso Apoteósico del Carnaval (The Main Parade)
• Monday. Burial of the Sardine, followed by the Widow's Ball.

And our recollection is that this has been the case for many more years too.

Some of the events leading up to it; the presentation of the candidates, opening parades, etc., which this year are happening on the weekend before the core events of carnaval, have previously been held mid-week. It's that difference, clearly, that is pushing it all onward 7 days. The trouble is that one cannot predict whether future years will be organized in the way it's being done this year, whether they will revert to the old way, or something else.

Planning ahead: Certainly, Los Cristianos carnaval main parade should not happen earlier than the 12 days after Shrove Tuesday, because their carnaval cannot start until Santa Cruz finishes and releases the fairground rides.

If you plan to be there for that date and book for a fortnight, you'd still be around if it is all moved onwards a week. Watch our news or check with Arona town hall nearer to the date each year to be absolutely sure, but know that this will almost always be too late to plan, unless you take a chance on last minute availability.

Better yet, write to Arona town hall (in English) and suggest that they "get with the program" so that you, as a visitor (after all, you are supposed to be important to them) can get information in time, or count on a regular enough schedule to be able to plan and book your holidays in advance to enjoy their carnaval.

No, seriously, we don't need to rant and whine at them (though it's tempting), but the more people who point out the defficiencies, the sooner the penny will drop that a bit of simple information can positively impact falling tourist numers.

Photo: raymondo182

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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The United States has its first black President and now Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has elected its first black Carnaval Queen. The 18 year old Ana María Tavárez Mata, representing newspaper El Día, with a costume entitled Embrujada (Bewitched) designed by Leo Martínez, was chosen from among the 18 candidates in last nights almost 3 hour long gala.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Hallelujah! In the nick of time, with just a few days to go, finally, we can give you details of the program of events for the Los Cristianos Carnaval 2009. Here goes:

Friday, March 6th, 2009. 20:00 hours. Events kick off with the Presentation of the Candidates for the Carnaval Queen at Los Cristianos Cultural Center.

Saturday, March 7th, 2009. 19:00 hours. Cabalgata Anunciadora (Opening Parade) along the Avenida Rafael Puig in Playa de las Américas, from the Avenida Francisco Andrade Fumero (near the entrance of the Hotel Conquistador) to the  C.C. Gala Shopping Center. It terminates with a "gran batucada" (incessant drumming) from all participating groups.

Thursday, March 12th, 2009. 20:30 hours. Gala election of the Junior Carnaval Queen in the Fair's Enclosure (in front of the   Valdés Center.)

Friday, March 13th, 2009. 18:30 hours. Carnival Ball for the Senior Citizens in the Los Cristianos Cultural Center. 21:00 hours. Grand Gala election of the Carnaval Queen in the Fair's Enclosure (in front of the   Valdés Center.)

Saturday, March 14th, 2009. 19:00 hours. Carnaval Parade around various areas of Los Cristianos. 23:00 hours. Carnaval Ball with the orchestra, Sensación Gomera in the Fair's Enclosure (in front of the   Valdés Center.)

Sunday, March 15th, 2009. 17:00 hours. Gran Coso Apoteósico del Carnaval (The Main Parade of Carnival), with a parade of all the carnival groups, Queens, etc., from   Aptos. Paloma Beach, via the Avenida Juan Carlos I, to terminate in the Fair's Enclosure (in front of the   Valdés Center.) At the end of the parade: Carnival Dance with Orchestra Wamampy in the Fair's Enclosure.

Monday, March 16th, 2009. 20:00 hours. Burial of the Sardine parade, leaving from the Los Cristianos Cultural Center, to the Los Cristianos beach. This is usually followed by the Widow's Ball in the Fair's Enclosure (in front of the   Valdés Center.)

In addition there's the fun fair, fireworks, stalls and lots of yummy street food to be enjoyed, so while carnival is on you can just go for an evening stroll amongst the stalls and funfair rides.

Slideshow of Los Cristianos Carnaval images | More Carnival photos

Frankly, it's absolutely sinful that a carnival anywhere, but especially one with such huge tourist potential as in Los Cristianos is kept so "secret".

NB: Please do not trust the plethora of sites I keep coming across who insist that a carnival cabalgata is "a parade with horses," because they've obviously never seen one. They probably haven't even been to Tenerife! Alright, maybe that's what the term cabalgata (cavalcade) meant in history and you might assume some link with the word caballería (cavalry) as soldiers who fought mounted on horseback, but in Tenerife carnival terms it just means a big parade, of people, floats ... Maybe the odd horse gets into the general melee, but not as a rule.

Photo: by baob555555

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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This week, Carnaval arrives proper in Tenerife. Today, Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 sees the huge Gala de elección de la Reina del Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2009 (Gala for the selection of the Carnaval Queen) and her attendants, held at the Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos de Tenerife. Starting at 9.30 p.m. Canary time - same time as the UK, the (usually 3+ hour) gala is to be televised live by Televisión Canaria (RTVC), nationally, internationally and even by internet, as well as via accredited international media, including the Italian national network RAI.

ABC also tell us that a "Túnel del Terror" (needs no translation: carnaval's theme is horror movies) will create atmosphere for the gala. It is a dark passageway, 15 meters in length, to be installed on the terrace of the congress centre.

(If you have another 3 hrs, 5 mins to spare, you can already watch last Friday's gala in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria online at TVE's answer to the iPlayer.)

Before the 2009 Carnaval Queen is crowned, here's a last look at the winner in 2008, Nauzet Celeste Cruz Melo, in a costume depicting Queen Elizabeth I (of England) entitled, "La Edad de Oro" (The Golden Age)   Nauzet Celeste, reina del carnaval de Tenerife, Tenerife ya tiene a su reina del carnaval, Nauzet Celeste Cruz Melo es la nueva Reina del Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

On Thursday, February 19th, Puerto de la Cruz will then select it's Carnaval Queen. On Friday, February, 20th, there will be the Cabalgata Anunciadora (the evening, opening parade) in Santa Cruz. Likewise, on Saturday, February 21st, there's the Cabalgata Anunciadora del Carnaval in Puerto de la Cruz.

Indeed, there'll be carnaval events somewhere on the island for most of the next few weeks, but if Carnaval itself isn't enough for you, the after party, After Carnaval 2009, starts at 5 a.m. each morning at Discoteca Dreams in Santa Cruz,  from Sunday, February 22nd through to Sunday, March 1st.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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A reader writes to ask, "Is the big carnival parade day in Los Cristianos on the 8th March 2009?"

Actually, we don't have a clue what the program is yet for the Los Cristianos (Arona) Carnaval. All I can tell you is  that it runs from Saturday, March 7th to Monday, March 16th (from Arona town hall's website).

You gotta love the next bit after they give the dates, where they say, "In early 2009, you can see here the program of events for the fiestas." Yeah, well we're a month and a half into 2009 now boys and girls and there's no blinking sign of a program of events, beyond just the start and finish dates.

As Tenerife Matters muse, "Still what’s the rush, this is Tenerife after all and it’s not as though Arona gets a lot of tourists who would like to know such things!"

Clearly people do want to know, because someone has bothered to ask.

Of course, we are talking about Tenerife here so, naturally, all timings should always be interpreted loosely, but it has been my experience, over the years, that the Los Cristianos (Arona) Carnaval is probably the least well advertised of just about all events on the island. It's not an admirable record really. :)

I remember when I worked in Los Cristianos, I generally wouldn't know when Carnaval was on until I saw the fun fair - usually then only because I wanted to park in the car park, only to find it closed - and put two and two together.

Anyway, it may be foolish to make assumptions about anything and especially not in relation to Tenerife, but if their Carnaval does follow the general order that it has in previous years (see last year's program), that would suggest that the main parade is more likely to be on the following Sunday, March 15th.

When - IF - we get more details on that program, we'll let you know here!

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Pa' calientar motores, (to warm up the engines) in anticipation of Carnaval in Santa Cruz, more precisely, the Dance Carnaval night on the Monday, February 23rd, DJ Real el Canario is offering a (152.74 MB) Carnaval 2009 Mix, available here free.

In other carnaval announcements, Tenerife Carnaval 2009 on the tele: Radio Televisión Canaria (RTVC) are to televise no less than 21 events of this year's carnaval in Santa Cruz, both inside the Canary Islands archipelago and outside the islands; via channels 96 an 98 on TDT in mainland Spain and via satellite to the rest of the world.

More than 470 police will patrol the Carnaval in Santa Cruz this year.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Salsa Tenerife have published a list of the 23 orchestras and artists who are going to be playing for the dancing in the streets during Carnaval 09 in Santa Cruz, on the two stages in the Plaza de La Candelaria and Plaza del Príncipe de Asturias - 10 concerts with more than 50 hours of music - between February 20th and 28th (in addition to the seven hour long open-air disco spectacular on the 23rd, Carnaval Monday), all Canarian, except Billo's Caracas Boys, who also played at last year's Carnaval de Día on the Domingo de Piñata.

Billos have filled the Santa Cruz' Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring) a few times and, when sharing the stage with the late Celia Cruz in 1987, achieved a mention in the Guinness World Record when the Carnival Tuesday ball in the Plaza de España, managed to attract the amazing figure of over 250,000 people.

The mostly local lineup is one of the budget saving measures that Santa Cruz town hall have implemented this year. Not that it would make a fat lot of difference to an island utterly dependent upon bringing in tourists by plane load, but I suppose keeping local saves a few air miles too.

The list starts with Mingo Show (no, that's mingo, not minging), who already performed at carnaval for the previous three years and bill themselves as "el primer grupo de animacion de Canarias" (the Canaries' best hosts.) Who, who have seen them, could possibly forget the Mingo Show who supported Orishas in Los Realejos last May, with DJ Sweet (the Canary Island's #1 Feminine DJ, stretching the term DJ to almost the same limits as the lycra in her cat suit) ... especially not their Flypa Song (no matter how hard one tries to get it out of one's head.) All that said, you can't knock 'em, because the public adores them and they certainly know how to get a crowd going.

The concerts in the Plaza del Príncipe (on the 21st, 23rd and 28th), all start at 21:00. Those in the Plaza de La Candelaria, will begin at 21:00 hours on the 22nd, 24th, 27th and 28th. In the Plaza de La Candelaria on the 20th, 21st and 25th they start at 23:00, after the Main Carnaval Parade, The Rhythm and Harmony Contest and the Burial of the Sardine, respectively.

Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnaval), which was such a huge success last year, is planned again this year, for Saturday, February 28th, 12 mid-day to 5 p.m., with, says the official Carnaval Program, "stellar performances" on the stages in the Plaza de La Candelaria, Plaza del Príncipe, Plaza de Europa and the Calle Castillo. They don't list who will be giving those concerts, yet.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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For once, unusually, I'll attempt to stay out of the politics of this, but I must say that I'd suffered the same strange puzzlement over the last few days, while I was researching information for posts on the upcoming Carnaval in Santa Cruz, only to find that the Carnaval website - that I've been used to visiting for years (there must be loads of links to it in blog posts here) - just ain't there any more.

Instead, the domains carnavaltenerife.es and .com now both redirect to the city's Development Society's website, santacruzmas.com. It advertises itself as the "Tourism and leisure portal of Santa Cruz", but, presumably, counts on only ever attracting Spanish speaking tourists to the city (no English version.)

Visiting that site today, Carnaval items have gained the spotlight, but a couple of days ago Carnaval was (and more worryingly, will be again later) not much more than an afterthought. Even now there's only a bit about the scenery (which we covered eons ago) and a PDF of an incomplete, provisional program of events.

With just three weeks to go to the start of this major event - second only to the hugely famous Carnaval in Rio, declared to be of international tourist interest and (naturally) a big draw and earner for the island of Tenerife and, that's it?

It's a bit much to rely solely on Carnaval 2009 info from Secret Tenerife, but all joking aside, what we have here, probably is the most information you'll find about the Tenerife Carnaval in one place online, in any language! :)

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Santa Cruz town hall may have announced that it was trimming down the budget for the 2009 Carnaval, but that certainly hasn't stopped organizers from innovating, or from attracting world-class acts to perform in the city.

On the night of Carnaval Monday, February 23rd, 2009 - traditionally one of the biggest party nights, as it's the eve of the Shrove Tuesday main parade (and a holiday in the city) - there is to be an open-air electronic music fiesta.

Among DJs are; Puerto de la Cruz born, Dutch resident, forerunner of the eclectic sound, Real el Canario (pictured), along with four iconic US acts; DJ Craze, Ron Carroll, Armand Van Helden and the legendary (at least in Ibiza) Roger Sánchez.

Taking place in the central Plaza de La Candelaria in Tenerife's capital city, the town hall are hopeful that this fiesta will be as successful as last year's hugely popular Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnaval) held on the Domingo de Piñata (Piñata Sunday), when the Orishas, Edwin Rivera and Billos Caracas Boys, among others, performed in five locations around the city.

This year's lineup will be historic: in that the five have never performed together before and, is aimed at 18 to 38 year olds (or those who just act / feel like it), bringing a mixture of mostly hip-hop, house and progressive house styles to Carnaval. I reckon it should help ensure Santa Cruz stays on the map.

And the best part about this immense, more than seven hour long open-air disco spectacular, boys and girls, is that whole thing is free.

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There's bearly a month to go until Carnaval 2009 kicks off in Santa Cruz, so we thought we'd better list a few dates for your social diary.

These are provisional and based on the regular annual schedule; thus are subject to last minute change, the whims of the weather, etc.

Wednesday, 18th February: Gala for the Election of the Carnival Queen 2009. Usually televised too, often internationally, if you have satellite.

Friday, 20th February: Proclamatory Parade in the evening.

Tuesday, 24th February: The main parade or "Coso Apotheosis" of Carnival (more photos) (starts around 4 pm).

Wednesday, 25th February: Attend the blasphemous and pornographic family entertainment night (really), known as the Burial of the Sardine.

Sunday, 1st March: Piñata Sunday, when a parade of beautiful vintage cars starts from the Calle La Noria, in the old part of Santa Cruz.

Puerto de la Cruz Carnaval

The main parade of Carnaval in Puerto de la Cruz should be taking place on Saturday, February 28th.

For more information on what goes on for Carnaval in Puerto, including their annual High Heels Marathon (for blokes, naturally), see Andrea Montgomery's article here.

Carnaval Elsewhere in Tenerife

There are usually Carnival events of varying size in lots of towns and villages on the island, including; Candelaria, Garachico, Güimar, Tacoronte, Guía de Isora, La Guancha and San Miguel de Abona, but the two largest that you are most likely to run into if you're visiting the island are probably:

Los Gigantes 5th – 9th Mar 2009
Los Cristianos 7th – 16th Mar 2009

Thanks to Los Gigantes.com for the additional dates.

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Murga group in Uruguay. Murga groups are also a very popular part of the Carnaval in Tenerife.With Carnaval just around the corner, what better than a bit of controversy to get the publicity machine started?

This time, to the surprise of many (who, of course, say that their only intention is to make the public laugh), the Frente de Liberación Gay y Lesbianas (Gay and Lesbian Liberation Front) in Tenerife, have brought a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, saying that the lyrics of the murga groups' songs are homophobic.

To be fair, their complaints have been made against both the Santa Cruz town hall and the town hall of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.  (Well, the perceived noise problem that helped publicise carnaval in the last few years silenced itself!) 

Gallery owners Given 3 months to bring protection up to legal standards

Almost 2 years after the tragedy in February 2007, which claimed the lives of 6 excursionists in the Piedra de Los Cochinos water galley in Los Silos, Tenerife, new security rules came into force on Jan 4th to regulate safety in this type of installation. 

The new rules require the owners of the galleries to install clear warning signs by March 4th, in order to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

The walkers had mistaken the (open) entrance to the fatal, gas-filled gallery with that of the (gated) tunnel to the next valley that they should have taken. The Asociación Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Naturaleza (The Tenerife Association of the Friends of Nature) (ATAN), survivors and victims' families had been campaigning ever since to get such legislation put in place.

Abandoned animals to get the snip

The Tenerife Corporation and the Canarian Federation of Animal Protection Associations have reached an agreement to sterilize abandoned cats and dogs on the island, with the intention of improving their sanitary conditions and to reduce the risks of them transmitting illnesses. It may only be a six month agreement, but  it's progress. How many years millennia has it taken to get to this point?

More news from Tenerife

The law on mobile phones in Spain, which applies to Tenerife, says that if you own a pay as you go SIM card in your mobile phone then you have to register your name and address with your network provider or lose your number.

Driving without insurance in Tenerife: It's no longer necessary to carry the original of your vehicle insurance documents while driving.

Tax Rebates for Renters: From 1st January 2008, you can deduct 10.05% of the rent paid if renting your main home in Tenerife, provided your taxable income is less than €24,020 per year. You will need to provide evidence of a rental contract and proof of payments.

Patrimonio Tax Abolished? Nope, but its rate has been set at zero.

Moving to Tenerife in a Recession "I’d prefer to be warm and broke in Tenerife than cold and broke in the UK," is a typical response amongst many.

Property prices in the Canary Islands fell 9%, more than the national average drop of 8.8%.

Tenerife has only half the number of doctors as Gran Canaria.

Low fares airline Monarch is increasing its scheduled flying programme to the Canary and Balearic Islands for Summer 2009 in response to strong demand from customers taking advantage of early flight booking offers.

The winter weather continues with heavy rains predicted for Thursday, accompanied by storms and high winds in the Canary Islands.

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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Isn't liked: "The decision has caused a public outcry as many believe that cost cutting is false economy, as the world-famous carnival brings many thousands of visitors to Tenerife and a much needed income to Santa Cruz."

Budget cut for Santa Cruz carnival

NB: In response to a question that a reader asked earlier, Carnaval 2009 in Santa Cruz runs from Sunday, 8 February to Sunday, 1 March. (The main parade in Santa Cruz is on Shrove Tuesday, February 24th, 2009).

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A reader, who is planning a trip to Tenerife in February, asks:

1. What is weather like then?

Sadly, I can't offer guarantees on the weather: it can still be changeable at that time of year (the "rainy season" is supposedly between November and March) and February is usually Carnaval month, when it's almost bound to rain at least once during the main week of Carnaval in Santa Cruz (just like it always rains during Wimbledon fortnight in Britain, in June.)

On the other hand, it's usually warm enough in February to parade through the streets in skimpy Carnaval costumes like the one above (the image was taken at Puerto de la Cruz Carnaval, on the cooler north of the island too), which should give you an idea.

And the historical climate data for Tenerife, for February shows averages including 6.6 hours of sun per day and an average air temperature of 17.9C. Frankly, that's a rather conservative forecast. Mid-day, on the south of the island, it can still reach 30C.

NB: Carnaval 2009 in Tenerife; in Santa Cruz runs from Sunday, 8 February to Sunday, 1 March, with the main parade in the city streets, as ever, on Shrove Tuesday (February 24th, 2009) while Carnaval 2009 in Puerto de la Cruz is from Sunday, 15 February to Saturday, 28 February.

Click here for Tenerife Carnaval Dates from 2008 to 2025

2. Where is the nicest place/hotel/apartment to stay in.

This is such a subjective thing, because what I like probably isn't going to be the same thing that suits other people. But if we pick a few that appear to be at the standards for celebrities and royalty, maybe we won't go far wrong.

3. We are looking for a classy place near the beach.

Most resort hotels are fairly near the beaches, but ones to consider and that are a bit more up-market and in better class areas might be the following:

Gran Melia Hotel Bahia Del Duque

The Gran Hotel Bahía del Duque Resort was constructed in 1993. Designed by the Tenerife-born architect Andrés Piñeiro, the hotel was first planned as a large 4* investment, but the idea of a 5* luxury establishment soon won over, marking the beginning of 5* developments in the now exclusive Costa Adeje region. Most of the 357 rooms have been decorated by Pascua Ortega, the Madrid-born interior designer, who has also decorated the private houses of the Spanish Royal Family (so we reckon it's also good enough for us!)

Click here to check availability or book the Hotel Bahia del Duque 

Hotel Europe Villa Cortes

If you prefer to trust the judgement of the stars, then the Hotel Europe Villa Cortés  - a luxurious seafront hacienda built in an authentic Mexican style -might be more to your liking, because this is where Jennifer Lopez and her husband, singer Marc Anthony stayed. One visitor offers the following review of the hotel, "The best hotel we have stayed in bar none. A hotel with rare attributes - character, tasteful rooms, delicious and adventurous cuisine and truly exceptional service. It is known as a bit of a hidden secret and I have rarely been so reluctant to spill the beans. It truly earns every one of its 5 stars!"

Click here to check availability or book the Hotel Europe Villa Cortés 

Mare Nostrum Resort

The superior deluxe Mare Nostrum Resort is comprised of five hotels; Mediterranean Palace, Sir Anthony, Julio César Palace, Cleopatra Palace and Marco Antonio Palace, all situated directly on the beach.

Click here to check availability or book the Mare Nostrum Resort

4. Flying to the south of island.

Most international flights do. On the one hand, this means you are only 15 minutes away from the resorts and on the side of the island with the better, drier weather. But the north is so much greener and prettier and, is only 40 miles away, so don't neglect moving outside of the hotel comfort zone, because, if you don't, you'll miss all the best things on the island.

If you have a question about Tenerife, don't be afraid to ask ...

Labels: Carnaval 2009

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