Santa Cruz Carnival: Contest of the Musical Groups

Saturday 16 February 2019 the Contest of the Musical Groups takes place.

Provisional Programme for Santa Cruz Carnival 2019

Most Santa Cruz carnival events are televised via RTVE or RTVC, locally, nationally and internationally or recordings may be found on the CarnavalTVC Youtube channel.

All events are liable to change beyond our control.

Agrupaciones Musicales | S/C Tenerife 2018

Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra to sing at the Carnaval de Día on Saturday 9 March

Juan Luis Guerra, 'Master of Bachata', is to perform on Saturday 9 March at the Daytime Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The Dominican singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer, winner of 18 Latin Grammys, will be on the stage in the Francisco La Roche Avenue, starting at 8:00 pm, with free access.

Santa Cruz Council, in collaboration with Radio Club Tenerife-CADENA SER, has confirmed the appearance of Juan Luis Guerra, one of the most internationally recognized Latin artists, who returns to one of the cities where he has felt most loved, accompanied by his musicians for a show that will be free access for the thousands of carnival goers that are expected in the city that day.

Guerra has recorded several songs in English, like "July 19th" on his 1994 album Fogaraté, and more recently "Medicine for My Soul" and "Something Good" with Italian singer Chiara Civello. Some of his songs have verses in both English and Spanish.

Considered "Maestro de la Bachata", Guerra has sold over 30 million albums and won numerous awards, including 18 Latin Grammys, two Grammy Awards and two Latin Billboard Awards. In 2007 he was the top recipient of six Latin Grammys. He won three Latin Grammys in 2010, including Album of the Year. In 2012 he won a Latin Grammy as Producer of the Year. He was also the top recipient of Latin Grammy Awards in 2015.

Juan Luis Guerra cantará en el Carnaval de Día del 9 de marzo



Juan Luis Guerra - Me sube la bilirrubina

Photo Acancino [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

The Return of the Palo Blanco Hillclimb

Palo Blanco (Image Los Realejos Town Hall)

This weekend on Saturday 16 February 2019 is the first outing of the year's Tenerife Rally Calendar 2019 with the Palo Blanco Hillclimb, an event that has been reintroduced to the rally schedule this year at the request of organisers, Escuderia Daute, in place of the El Tanque Hillclimb that had not seen sufficient participation in recent years. Palo Blanco, along with La Ferruja and Las Llanadas are hamlets, which together have a population of around 2,600 people, in the higher reaches of the municipality of Los Realejos.

El regreso de la Subida a Palo Blanco, novedad en el calendario tinerfeño de 2019






Video: Palo Blanco in 2001

Santa Cruz Carnival: Final of the Murgas Contest

Finally, we come to the final of the murga contests, which takes place on Friday 15 February 2019. We appreciate that the murgas can be something of an acquired taste and is probably a taste you may not acquire, unless you speak very good Spanish and have an incredibly keen interest in local politics and current affairs. The longest contest of the whole run up to the carnival too, lasting in excess of six hours, if you don't have time or inclination for the whole thing, here are 27 minutes of edited highlights from last year's contest.

Provisional Programme for Santa Cruz Carnival 2019

Most Santa Cruz carnival events are televised via RTVE or RTVC, locally, nationally and internationally or recordings may be found on the CarnavalTVC Youtube channel.

All events are liable to change beyond our control.

Final Concurso Murgas | S/C Tenerife 2018

Tenerife is the favourite destination to celebrate Saint Valentine's Day alone

Carnations are gaining ground on roses for St. Valentine's

In recent years, Tenerife has become the principal destination to celebrate the Día del Soltero* (Day of the Bachelor / Single's Day), according to eDreams who utilised the traditional celebration of Valentine's Day to analyze the trends of lone travelers.

In 2017 the favorite destinations of the Spanish to escape solo were capitals such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​London, Paris or Berlin. However, during 2018, Tenerife became the main protagonist to celebrate the Día del Soltero, followed by Madrid, Barcelona, ​​London and Paris. Tenerife is the destination that reflected the most significant growth in interest from solo travelers, compared to the previous year, with an increase of 146%.

Other cities where singles choose to celebrate their singleness are La Havana (up 50%), Dublin (increase of 41%), Bogota (34% more) and Lisbon (32% increase).

Regarding travel as a couple, the tourist epicenters of love in 2017 were located in Madrid, Paris, London, Rome and Barcelona. In 2018 Paris regained its label of 'capital of love', followed by others such as London, Rome, Madrid and Barcelona.

Tenerife es el favorito para celebrar San Valentín en solitario

* Día del Soltero is celebrated on 13th, 14th or 15th February, depending on which report you read!

Valentine's Day in Spain

In Spain, Día de San Valentín (St. Valentine's Day) began to be celebrated in the middle of the 20th century, with the purpose of encouraging the purchase of gifts. Really? :) It is said that this festival was introduced by the store chain Galerías Preciados.

The best restaurants to celebrate St. Valentine's in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Tables with candles, secluded corners, dishes to share, flying angels, violinists on the roof ... This Valentine's Day the most romantic restaurants in the city await you to feed your love ...
Los mejores restaurantes para celebrar San Valentín en Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Apparently, carnations are beginning to gain ground over roses, as they are cheaper than roses, especially red roses, whose price shoots up on Valentine's Day.
¿CLAVELES O ROSAS? ¿QUÉS ES MEJOR PARA SAN VALENTÍN?

Santa Cruz Council auctioned 43 Carnival pitches for a total of 137,000 euros

Carnival articles on sale on a stall

Yesterday, Santa Cruz Council held the action for the pitches for the stalls that will be placed around the city during carnival. This year the number sold (from a possible 58), was 43, two more than last year and were auctioned for a total of 136,877.78 euros. Organisers reserved another 27 pitches for the large commercial firms that sponsor the carnival.

The prices of individual pitches were maintained in line with previous years and ranged from between 620.08 euros for the most economical to 17,584.84 euros, for the large food stalls that are installed in the Plaza de España and the Plaza de la Candelaria.

The stalls, in the streets of Valentín Sanz, Villalba Hervás, La Marina and Castillo, as well as in the Plaza de España and the Plaza de la Candelaria, will be open to the public from March 1 to March 10, coinciding with the dates of carnival events in the streets.

El Ayuntamiento adjudica 43 puestos de Carnaval por un importe de 137.000 euros

Jungle Day goes to the south of Tenerife on Saturday, February 16

Jungle Day is an event where everyone who wants to can enjoy this new philosophy of training, based on animal movement as a way of life that promotes health, and well-being through physical exercise, food and environmental respect

On Saturday 16 February, the best Wild Coaches from Tenerife will teach this method of training. The event will take place at the Nexsport Club Adeje, in the south of Tenerife.

All the proceeds from this day will go to Moving The Planet, an independent organization that aims to change the world. In addition, members of this organization will be present at Jungle Day, to carry out a "Move" action and introduce their philosophy to those present.

This event will be covered by the leading sports program in the Canary Islands, Macaronesia Sport, which will carry out a report for its broadcast on the regional channel of Radio Televisión Canaria. If you are interested in attending, contact Hara Sport Center in Santa Úrsula.

Jungle Day se va al sur de Tenerife el próximo sábado 16 de febrero

Brexit the consequences for the Canaries

Everything to do with Brexit is still speculation, conjecture and guesswork, however, this recent article from Diario de Avisos was interesting to see how it is perceived from the point of view locally in the Canary Islands. 

The departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU), better known as Brexit, generates enormous uncertainty and concern

The exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU), better known as Brexit, generates enormous uncertainty and concern. It will have serious internal consequences for the British but also, due to its great economic power, for the whole of the Union. It will also affect the Canary Islands, where British tourism is very important and, as a large part of our horticultural exports are destined for the United Kingdom.

Europe is not going through its best moment. We have gone from a Europe that generated hope to one that, unfortunately, generates disappointment, despite being one of the few global areas with high economic and cultural level, consolidated democracies and advanced social rights and freedoms, but, also, with deep inequalities that have been deepening and consolidating.

The value of European unity suffers as conservative ideas and ultranationalism advance, which turns  countries into nation states without the slightest European interest. This has been helped by the lack of protection and the fear caused by the austerity policies and cuts applied during the crisis, which have impoverished a part of its population and shown its enormous vulnerability.

The political expressions of the anti-European movement are especially felt in Hungary and Poland, where extremist populist formations govern, but also in parties such as Alternative for Germany or the National Association of Le Pen (former National Front) in France, with significant electoral weight. Also, with those who have promoted Brexit. Several polls predict the far right and eurosceptics a representation above 150 seats in the European Parliament elections next May.

Brexit is a decision, adopted in referendum in June 2016, which generates a high internal impact and expands to the whole of Europe. We are referring to one of the most powerful states in the EU, in which 51% of its imports come from the European Union and 47% of its exports are made to countries of the Union.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

An agreed and orderly departure from the United Kingdom, as initially outlined in the agreement between its Government and the European Commission, seemed the most reasonable framework and with the least negative effects for the parties. It allowed its presence in the EU until 2020, made it possible to maintain its contribution to the EU budget (almost 11,000 million euros), as well as its maintenance in the single market and in the common airspace.

On the contrary, a hard, rupturistic solution, where it is not known how it will end, will impact, first of all, on the economy of the United Kingdom itself and on the pockets of its citizens, where the backward movement will be evident. Some reports indicate that a third of British companies could leave the country. Some have already begun the procedures for transfer and will have very serious problems the rest.

In relation to the Canary Islands, there are several issues that can be affected by Brexit. In the case of the agricultural export sector, we have half of the horticultural sector - 49% in tomatoes and 57% in cucumbers - committed to the United Kingdom. By becoming a third-party country of the EU, aid for transport and commercialization would be lost. In addition, we import more than 80% of the consumption potatoes and a significant percentage of those for sowing.

The impact on our main sector, in tourism, would also be very significant. First because of the decline of the British economy, where there are very different estimates from those who point to the retraction of a point of GDP to those who predict six points in the reduction of wealth. The more than predictable greater devaluation of the pound will reduce the purchasing power of the British people and, therefore, will hinder their departure for tourism.

Tourism from the United Kingdom accounts for 33% of total visitors to the Islands, reaching 44.7% in Lanzarote and 35% in Tenerife and a third of total tourism expenditure (origin and destination). Its reduction would have effects on the Canarian economy and on employment. In addition, airlines with British majority capital would also be affected, including Iberia and other low-cost carriers with a particular impact on the transfer of tourists to our archipelago.

On the other hand, several thousand Canary Islanders, who are in the United Kingdom for work and study reasons, would be considered foreigners, with consequences in their work permits, in the increase in the cost of their studies and in health care

Faced with such uncertainty, in October 2016, the Canarian Government created a working committee to monitor and evaluate the consequences in the Canary Islands of the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, which we value. But, in addition, the Executive has to act with determination and in a coordinated way.

El ‘brexit’, consecuencias para Canarias

Santa Cruz Carnival: Phase 3 of the Adult Murga Contest

The third and final phase of the adult Murga contest is on Wednesday 13 February 2019.

Provisional Programme for Santa Cruz Carnival 2019

Most Santa Cruz carnival events are televised via RTVE or RTVC, locally, nationally and internationally or recordings may be found on the CarnavalTVC Youtube channel.

All events are liable to change beyond our control.

3ª Fase Murgas adultas | Carnaval S/C Tenerife 2018

Santa Cruz Carnival: Phase 2 of the Adult Murga Contest

On Tuesday 12 February 2019 we see the second phase of the Adult Murga Contest.

Provisional Programme for Santa Cruz Carnival 2019

Most Santa Cruz carnival events are televised via RTVE or RTVC, locally, nationally and internationally or recordings may be found on the CarnavalTVC Youtube channel.

All events are liable to change beyond our control.

2ª Fase Murgas adultas | Carnaval S/C Tenerife 2018