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Arroz Marinero (Sailor's Rice)

Paella (Stock image)

Today, 19 March is Día del Padre (Father's Day) in many Spanish-speaking countries and La Laguna Ahora offer us this recipe for Arroz Marinero (Sailor's Rice). Whilst this could have been deemed suitable for the occasion because so many dads' hobby is fishing, maybe it's really because it contains beer.

This paella is very popular, especially when a large number of people gather. If you want to make a smaller amount, reduce the ingredients proportionally.

Ingredients:

1 kilo of rice
½ kilo of seafood to taste
1 kilo of onions
2 heads of garlic
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
parsley
oregano
thyme
2 strands of saffron
2 beers
1 glass of white wine
oil

Method:

  • Cook the seafood, reserving the water. 
  • Fry the onions, garlic, red and green peppers (all chopped), plus a little parsley, oregano and thyme and saffron. 
  • Add the beers and the white wine and bring to boil, then incorporate the seafood. 
  • Add the rice with water (for each kilo of rice, 2 litres of water in which the seafood was cooked) and leave it to simmer until it is dry on the surface of the rice, but still moist beneath. 
  • Let it rest covered with aluminium foil.

Santa Cruz gives green light to Museum of History of The City in the Palacio de Carta

Palacio de Carta in the Plaza de la Candelaria, Santa Cruz. Photo: rene boulay [CC BY-SA 3.0]

The City of Santa Cruz de Tenerife met on Monday to discuss in detail the project to create the first Museum of History of the City in the Palacio de Carta. This emblematic building, in the Plaza de la Candelaria in the heart of the city, was built between 1721 and 1752 for Matías Rodríguez Carta, who ordered the construction and then used it as his family residence. The building has since been the headquarters of the Civil Government, as well as of the Canary General Captaincy - not less than 19 General Captains have lived there - and even the headquarters of the Credit National Bank during the fifties. In recent years it had not been in use. It is now to be restored and will have a new life.

The Museum will show, via a journey through history, the most relevant events that have taken place since the foundation of the city, in 1494. 

With an interactive room on the ground floor, videos will introduce the visitor to aspects of the history and symbols of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, such as old Santa Cruz, through images; tourist routes with historical and cultural content; a virtual reality zone and, finally, a 360º visualisation the city. 

The 360 degree virtual tour of the most important points of Santa Cruz, will include 15 selected areas of the city that stand out for their history or other noteworthy aspects. There will be seating in the central space of the room to provide access to various immersive experiences emblematic to the city such as: the Carnival, the Recreation of La Gesta (the annual Reenactment of the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife the infamous assault, in 1797, launched against the city by Horatio Nelson), the Cruces de Mayo (Crosses of May) and of the Embarcación de la Virgen del Carmen

The central courtyard of the Carta Palace will host a rest area with explanatory panels, while the floor will be completed with a reception space, a shop and the Tigre cannon exhibition (currently in the The San Cristóbal Castle Interpretation Centre). The second courtyard will be dedicated to information about the building itself, with a detailed account of the origin of the Palace, its construction, evolution, as well as the purposes and venues that it has housed over time. In the mezzanine, the Museum will trace the chronicle of aboriginal world, before the fifteenth century, giving an account of the Guanche society that inhabited the Menceyato de Anaga that would encompass much of what is now the municipality of Santa Cruz. Through different rooms, the trip will continue to the foundational period of the nucleus after the Castilian conquest, its evolution and growth throughout the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, until reaching the nineteenth, when Santa Cruz acquired a political prominence and social status both on the island and within the archipelago. Finally, the historical tour will reach the contemporary era, from the beginning of the 20th century to the present.

The museum complex will also have an assembly hall properly equipped to schedule activities, conferences or workshops and with a maximum capacity of 40 places. There will also be two rooms designed to host temporary exhibitions.

The original clock of the Carta Palace will be integrated as an exhibition element accompanied by a description of its history and noteworthy characteristics.

El Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz da luz verde al proyecto de Museo de Historia de la ciudad en el Palacio de Carta

Final balance of Santa Cruz Carnival 2019

Fireworks at the end of Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

As fireworks said goodbye to the The Deep Sea carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife almost a week ago, it's time to look back at the events. Councillor for Fiestas, Gladis de León, said Monday that "Today, everyone says that Santa Cruz has the best carnival in the world". Having been at many of the main events myself, I absolutely don't disagree. Whilst Rio may be bigger and Venice may have the edge on a certain type of glamour, you just can't beat Santa Cruz Carnival on it's accessibility; the opportunity to become part of carnival rather than just an onlooker; the amazing atmosphere and everyone's friendliness.

Mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez isn't hiding his satisfaction with the Carnival either. In an interview, he says, "The night of Piñata Saturday showed that the [carnival in the] streets is our forte, that we are an unique Carnival, a Carnival of international proportions with something that nobody can ever copy: 400,000 people enjoying [themselves] on the street. That can not be copied, it has to be lived and it is a feeling of the people. Our people and their way of living the Carnival is what makes it great, different, safe and special."

We're still nodding our heads. My husband, who was a carnival virgin until this year, has said how he was impressed by Santa Cruz de Tenerife that, from the moment we arrived, felt like a city letting it's hair down and enjoying itself and not a festival that had merely been organised for the purposes of making money.

The distinction, of course, is that any festival in Britain will be organised by private companies, purely for profit and Santa Cruz Carnival is organised by the city council. They may well be, justly, keen to draw money into the city (this year's festivities generated revenue of 35 million euros for the city), but first and foremost it remains the local party for the people of the city. 
  • More than a million people attended the events of carnival, from the start of the contests to the Piñata Sunday
  • The absence of incidents of relevance during the development of Carnival on the street
  • Tista transported 706,000 passengers during the party and the tram to 258,000
  • In spite of the increase of public affluence with respect to previous editions, less solid waste was generated
  • Hotel occupancy in the city reached 100% during the two Saturdays of the party
  • The Carnival recorded up to 18 million interactions through official profiles on social networks

The Carnival of 2019 will go down in history as the most participatory to date, which together with the absence of relevant incidents from the point of view of security, shows this is a party as multitudinous as it is fun and friendly. 

The Juan Luis Guerra concert, organized together with Cadena Ser and which put the finishing touch to Piñata Saturday, broke attendance records, with an estimated influx of 400,000 people to the city that day.

The increase in traffic on the Carnival Facebook page stands out, as more than thirteen million people have seen some of their publications during the last two months; Nearly nine thousand new fans have registered and the videos have been played 1,513,154 times.

Some 10.3 million viewers watched the Gala for the Election of the Carnival Queen, broadcast live by Televisión Canaria and Televisión Española at some point. Televisión Española also broadcast the Rhythm and Harmony contest, which was seen at some point by 2.9 million people, and recorded an average of 436,000 viewers. The Main Parade was also broadcast by Televisión Canaria, which also made a special program on the occasion of the Daytime Carnival.

The hotel occupancy data from Ashotel Tenerife reveal a 100 percent occupancy on Piñata Saturday and close to full during the first weekend of the carnival. The vice-president of Ashotel, Gabriel Wolgeschaffen, has been very satisfied with the results, which surpassed the forecast of 90 percent that was expected in the beginning. Last year's occupation was 83 percent.

Between March 1 and 10, 21,200 cruise ship passengers arrived at the capital, such as the "AidaStella", which only on Saturday 9, Day Carnival, brought some 2,800 visitors. (Personally, the number of cruise ship passengers is a bit of wishful thinking. Yes, that number called into port during those dates, but I checked the schedules and there were only two ships, the AidaStella and the Black Watch on 5 March that were in at a time when passengers could have seen any of the carnival events. Someone please let the cruise companies, the port authorities and the council know that they're missing a trick here.)

In spite of the historical figures of affluence, the council registered a descent in the waste generated in relation to 2018 by about 83 tons. In particular, this year 444.7 tons of solid urban waste were collected, against the 528.3 tons of the last edition. Some 36.7 tons of 'light packaging' were collected, which shows that the actions initiated in relation to recycling have begun to pay off. In 2018 only 930 kilos were collected. (I'll admit it, I had serious doubts over the ability of drunk people to separate their recycling!) The cleaning operation resulted in 7,819 hours of work and the use of just over 3.3 million liters of water, practically all desalinated and 3,421 litres of chemical products used. The municipal cleaning services deployed during the festivities, an extraordinary operation, integrated by more than 200 operators and fifty vehicles. Yes, the streets really did look this bad in the mornings, but it's a party. It gets dealt with. Someone gets a job.

One negative: on the morning of Carnival Tuesday especially, after the big party the night before, the streets of Santa Cruz smelled like 100,000 tom cats had come in and marked their territory. It was rank! Clearly 190 portaloos is not enough and we clearly saw lots of people publicly not using them.

Tenerife's public bus company TITSA, transported 706.606 passengers during Carnival 2019 on routes destined for the Interchange of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which represents 23.7% more travelers with respect to the last year's carnival. On Saturday March 9, coinciding with the celebration of the second Daytime Carnival, 79,878 passengers used public transport, 28.6% more than in 2018. This increase in the use of public transport affected all the routes that connect the capital with the main urban centers of the north and south of the island, as well as the metropolitan area. The company had reinforced the service with 262,000 additional seats and 562 additional drivers.

The operation of the service ran without major incidents thanks to the deployment of a special security service that included more than 40 agents distributed both in the buses and in the interchanges of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and La Laguna.

The tram moved 258,855 people during the ten days of Carnival.

The safety and emergency personnel who worked during the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, comprised of almost 1,500 people (compare that to the 13,020 police deployed at Notting Hill last year for only double the number of carnival-goers), has increased its level of coordination and work this year due to the expected increase in public. We felt that the number of police in Santa Cruz was appropriate: enough to make you feel safe, not so many as to make you feel that they were there to stop you having a good time.

The facilities of the Carnival Hospital (Red Cross First Aid Post) were attended by just 681 people, representing a 9% increase over the previous year. Despite this increase, the relationship between the number of people and the number of attentions remains in line with recent years. The number of people who were attended to due to alcohol consumption remains at almost 45 percent of the total. The second cause for which first aid was needed was for injuries resulting from falls or cuts from broken glass in the street. The number of assaults decreased, by 3 percent, despite the greater number of people at the Carnival events. National Police under their Operation Neptuno 2019, charged and fined 382 individuals for drug consumption and possession in a public area (yes, I smelt that in various places too), another five were charged with possession of a weapon, while seven were taken to police stations because they refused to identify themselves. In comparison with previous years, the police are highlighting the relatively better public behaviour by carnival-goers.

The competitions, galas and parades, including the three Carnival Queen galas, were witnessed live by more than 320,000 people:


Vídeo resumen del Carnaval 2019

Daytime Carnival beat all the records with 400,000 people in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The crowds in Santa Cruz on Saturday

Santa Cruz de Tenerife lived a Carnival Piñata this year that outdid all the forecasts. The second Daytime Carnival event on Saturday 9 March fused into the night time dances, with more than fifty performances in 18 uninterrupted hours of music and dance. The number of people in the carnival area was around 400,000 people, according to local police data. Between 7 o'clock in the morning to 7 o'clock in the afternoon, 18,332 more vehicles entered the city than the previous Saturday. This increase and the traffic jams at the entrance to Santa Cruz forced a redoubling of efforts to regulate traffic at the entrances to the capital. This became especially evident in the hours before the concert offered by the Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra, preceded by Cuban band Orishas.

The crowd ended up cramming the entire area between Avenida Francisco La Roche, the Alameda del Duque de Santa Elena and Plaza de España, as well as adjacent streets such as La Marina, Villalba Hervás and Emilio Calzadilla.

From midday, when the program of activities organized by the City Council began, the influx of people was constant around the stages installed in the squares of La Candelaria and Príncipe and the Avenue Francisco La Roche.

The numbers are twice that of the final Daytime Carnival last year and certainly beats the 250,000 people who attended the Celia Cruz concert for Carnival in Santa Cruz in 1987 that was registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest gathering of people in an outdoor plaza to attend a concert.

Juan Luis Guerra Breaks Tenerife Carnival Attendance Record | El Carnaval de Santa Cruz desborda sus previsiones con una Piñata multitudinaria | El Carnaval de Día bate récords con 400.000 personas en Santa Cruz de Tenerife | Santa Cruz bate el récord de Celia Cruz

Tenerife Carnival Dates for 2020

Santa Cruz Carnival Poster 2020

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival 2020

Santa Cruz Carnival 2020 will take to the streets between Friday, 21st February 2020 and Sunday, 1st March 2020.  What's listed below has now been confirmed as the official carnival program. 

Highlighted are the events and parades in the streets.
  • Friday, 24 January: Inauguration of Carnival 2020
  • Thursday, 30 January: 1st Phase of the Junior Murgas Contest
  • Friday, 31 January: 2nd Phase of the Junior Murgas Contest
  • Saturday, 1 February: 3rd Phase of the Junior Murgas Contest
  • Sunday, 2 February: Festival of Choreographed Groups
  • Monday, 3 February: 1st Phase of the Adult Murga Contest
  • Tuesday, 4 February: 2nd Phase of the Adult Murga Contest
  • Wednesday, 5 February: 3rd Phase of the Adult Murga Contest
  • Friday, 7 February: Final of the Murga Contests
  • Saturday, 8 February: Contest of Musical Groups
  • Sunday, 9 February: Gala Election of the Junior Carnival Queen
  • Wednesday, 12 February: Election of the Senior Carnaval Queen
  • Friday, 14 February: Comedy Song Contest
  • Saturday, 15 February: Comparsas Contest
  • Sunday, 16 February: Costume Contest and the Rondallas Contest
  • Tuesday, 18 February: Concert with lyrical group Los Fregolinos
  • Wednesday, 19 February: Gala Election of the Carnival Queen
  • Thursday, 20 February: Festival of the Zarzuela
  • Friday, 21 February: Opening Parade
  • Saturday, 22 February: Rhythm and Harmony Comparsas
  • Sunday, 23 February: Daytime Carnival
  • Monday, 24 February: Carnival Monday
  • Tuesday, 25 February: Carnival Main Parade
  • Wednesday, 26 February: Burial of the Sardine
  • Thursday, 27 February: Festival of Rondallas
  • Friday, 28 February: Children's Carnival Parade
  • Saturday, 29 February: Daytime Carnival
  • Sunday, 1 March: Exhibition and parade of vintage and classic cars, end of carnival party and carnival closes with a firework display

2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Program

Puerto de la Cruz Carnival

  • Thursday, February 20th, 2020 - Election of the Carnival Queen
  • Saturday, February 22nd, 2020 - Proclamatory Parade
  • Wednesday, February 26th, 2020 - Burial of the Sardine
  • Friday, February 28th, 2020 - Men´s Marathon in High Heels
  • Saturday, February 29th, 2020 - Main Parade

Los Gigantes Carnival

The start of carnival in Los Gigantes is usually on the Friday ten days after Shrove Tuesday. Therefore, we calculate that their carnival should start on Friday, 6th March 2020, with their main parade being held on Sunday, 8th March 2020.

Los Cristianos Carnival

UPDATE 11/03/2020: Los Cristianos Carnival Suspended

Theme of Carnival 2020 - The Flirty Fifties

The Flirty Fifties

The theme of Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2020 has been announced today, chosen by 25.1% of the public who voted online is The Flirty Fifties.

Some 4,286 votes were registered, of which 1,076, or 25.1% of the total, went to 'The Flirty Fifties', ahead of the other seven options. Voted second was 'From ancient to modern Japan', with 853 votes (19.9%), followed by 'Cowboys and American Indians', which obtained 639 votes (14.9%); 'Bella Italia', with 551 votes (12.9%); 'From modern art to pop art', with 352 votes (8.2%); 'New York, the city that never sleeps', with 346 votes (8.1%); 'Urban Tribes', with 271 votes (6.3%), and 'Route 66', with 200 votes (4.6%). The announcement was made during the last dance of the Carnival held Sunday in the Plaza de La Candelaria and before the fireworks display that ended the festivities.

The main dates will be between Friday 21 February and Sunday 1 March 2020.

Los coquetos años 50” será el tema del Carnaval 2020 de Santa Cruz

Burial of the Sardine Ash Wednesday 2019

The sardine on the way to its funeral 6 March 2019


What more can be said about the Burial of the Sardine? It's already been described as blasphemous, rude, pornographic. All true. Surreal is also applicable, but even if you put these all together and times whatever vast level of weirdness you then imagined by a thousand, you'd still come nowhere near. And yet it was as safe, friendly and accessible as any other night at carnival (and a whole lot more so than any average Saturday night in a British town.) (Right) just a few regular guys on 'boys night out' at the Burial of the Sardine in Santa Cruz.

It's called the Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine) (even though it's cremated) and the 'wailing widows' are blokes in drag who mourn the end of carnival and the beginning of Lent, even though the party carries on for days.

The significance of the sardine - so I was told - is that it represents the return from the anarchy and craziness of carnival, back to the everyday order and everyday food, like sardines. Blame has also variously been pointed at a side of pork and some smelly sardines or a particularly skinny minister in Madrid.

The wailing widows are dressed like tarts, because now they've lost their husband (the sardine), they have no other means of support, so they'll have to go "on the game". And for some reason the "clergy", bless the mourners with dildos.

Does it even have to make sense? It's one of carnival's biggest party nights.

La Laguna Ahora explained that during the "Fiestas de Invierno" (Winter Festival) - the name that carnival had to go under during Franco's dictatorship - they used to have to mess with the calendar to make sure that the sardine's funeral - which was "prohibited" anyway - didn't coincide with Ash Wednesday. Once liberties were regained, the event was restored with enthusiasm.

One year, also symbolically, Guy Fawkes stylee, an effigy of the lawyer who represented the Neighbours' Association in their complaint about the noise of Carnaval was also cremated. OK, so maybe 155 dB - louder than a jet engine roaring 100 feet from your ears - was a bit much for midnight, but their protests fell - pretty literally - on deaf ears. Nobody was going to do away with more than 200 years of the "institution" of carnaval in the streets of Tenerife's capital.

Oh and you'll encounter people with seriously and hilariously impaired judgement. I've no idea what they were on, but impaired enough to come up to this dodgy character (left), request photos with him like he was some sort of tourist attraction and ask "¿Es de verdad?" (Is he for real?) No boys and girls, this 'nun' is my husband in a cheap ebay fancy dress. It did add to my amusement for the night. 

We were able to catch up with my friend Lee de Caires, better known by most for ¡Qué Gran Viaje! - see video below - but alas I didn't stay for the sardine's cremation as I had nasty flu. At least that gives me a good excuse to go back again another year, doesn't it? 

In Santa Cruz, the the funeral procession leaves from the Calle Juan Pablo II at around 9 pm, taking a route through Méndez Núñez, Pilar, Villalba Hervás, La Marina and ending up in the Plaza de España, for the burning of the sardine.

Carnival Main Parade in Santa Cruz 2019

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019, Priscila Medina Quintero

Coso Apoteosis - Carnival Main Parade in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on Shrove Tuesday, 5 March 2019. And this is still only a small selection. 

Floats heralding the approaching parade on Tuesday 5 March 2019

Afilarmónica Nifú Nifá  the grandfathers of carnival, head up the parade as is tradition.

Carnival Queen, Priscila Medina Quintero, in the Main Parade Tuesday 5 March 2019

Comparsa Los Cariocas 2019 
Founded in 1969, Los Cariocas are celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year.

Susana Conde Alba,1st Maid of Honour in 2019

Comparsa Tropicana 2019

Founded in 1994, in Candelaria, Comparsa Tropicana, this year, celebrate their 25th Anniversary. They made their first appearance on stage, in Candelaria, in 1995 and the following year participated in Santa Cruz Carnival.

Viviane Cordobés Ramos, 2nd Maid of Honour


Third Maid of Honour in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019, Inma Afonso Darias


Comparsa Los Rumberos 2019

In 2018, the city of Santa Cruz paid homage to the Comparsa Los Rumberos, the oldest troupe in the Canary Islands, and gave its name to a street. Founded by Manuel Monzón and a group of friends from the Nuestra Señora de África Market on 14 December 1965, the following year, the group presented its costume, repertoire and flag. Los Rumberos was the first comparsa to go abroad, visiting Cádiz, Madrid, Paris, Viareggio (Italy) and Havana (Cuba) and in its prize list is the privilege of being the first to have won four first consecutive prizes in Presentation. In September 2012 Monzón received, posthumously, the recognition as Son of the City of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Fourth Maid of Honour in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019 Raquel Iboleón Laynez

Comparsa Bahía Bahitiare 2019

Las Celias de Tenerife

'Las Celias de Tenerife' have been part of carnival in Santa Cruz since 1996 and began as a group of friends who decided to dress alike paying tribute to the singer Celia Cruz, known as 'Queen of Salsa'. Since then, they have not missed a single year, standing out as much for the grace and joy of the members of the group, as for their striking attire. These "clones of Celia Cruz" have been dressed by the best designers of the carnival, from Santi Castro to Juan Carlos Armas. The collective has, at times, been composed of more than a dozen members. The 'Celias de Tenerife' have been accorded the category of Carnival characters since 2013: characters that have become an indispensable part of the event.

Junior Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019 Ylenia Rodíguez Domíngez


First Junior Maid of Honour at Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival 2019, Aroa García Abreu

Second Junior Maid of Honour in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019 Oriana Cabrera Lorenzo

Third Junior Maid of Honour in Santa Cruz 2019 Karen Irene Acosta Almenara

Fourth Junior Maid of Honour in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019 Ithaysa Delgado Aguilar

The Characters of Carnival

Fifth Junior Maid of Honour in Santa Cruz 2019 Cynthia Gazmira Cubas Padilla

Los Indianos in Santa Cruz de La Palma

The character of La Negra Tomasa whose arrival triggers the celebration of the Los IndianosAyuntamiento de Santa Cruz de La Palma / CC BY-SA

The biggest event of the carnival in Santa Cruz de La Palma is Los Indianos, normally held on Carnival Monday, the day before Shrove TuesdayThe figure of La Negra Tomasa, the most emblematic character of this festival, is certain to offend some people, being a character who is blacked up and in drag, so a little context and history is required to attempt to explain this unique tradition.

Los Indianos is a traditional festival on the island of La Palma that attempts to poke fun at the islanders who had emigrated to Las Indias, that is the West Indies, more specifically to Cuba, and who, on their return, flaunted the wealth they had obtained in those lands. These islanders who had emigrated and returned were labelled "Indianos" (those from the [West] Indies).

In the middle of the afternoon, a parade begins from the Avenida de los Indianos, next to the city's port, and travels to the Plaza de La Alameda, where the party will continue until the early hours of the morning. The Indianos carry luggage; leather suitcases and trunks, maybe filled with Monopoly money, cages with tropical animals and some even 
accompanied by a retinue of black servants, all to the sound of Cuban music, with tastings of sugar cane, molasses and mojitos.

Traditional dress for this festival consists of a guayabera (a.k.a. Beach wedding shirts) traditionally associated with Cuba and white pants or a linen suit, as well as an indispensable Panamanian hat. Women also dress in all white costumes, wearing period dresses and carrying lace parasols. The festival has a strong Cuban flavour. This is so because it was one of the main sources of emigration for many people of La Palma, so the two islands became strongly linked.

Tons of talc are used in the battle Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de La Palma / CC BY-SA

The battle of talcum powder, according to popular belief, had its origin during the 19th century, when a ship left a cargo of flour in poor condition in port, becoming an element of fun at the carnival that was being celebrated at that time. That belief was discarded because 17th century documents have been found that speak of "powdering" on Carnival Monday. It is believed to be a custom inherited from Cuban rituals of bleaching the skin. At the beginning of the 20th century, this tradition was repressed, as "it disturbed public order too much", but from the second half of the century it began to recover, replacing the flour with talc.

Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnaval) 2019

Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnaval) in the Plaza de la Candelaria on Sunday 3 March 2019

Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnaval) was a concept introduced into the carnival celebrations in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2008, first as one event each year and later with two. These have altered the ambience of carnival - for the better - to make it much more of a family-orientated event. We went to the first Daytime Carnival on Sunday, 3 March 2019. Great day for people watching.

The done thing is for couples to wear the same outfit. Of course.

Even the dog is in theme. Groups of friends have matching outfits. 

Whole families dress alike.

Even the buggy gets dressed up

Rhythm & Harmony Comparsas Contest 2019

View from the stands for the Rhythm & Harmony on 2 March 2019

Saturday 2 March 2019, we had a brilliant night out at the Rhythm & Harmony Comparsas Contest on the Avenida Anaga, alongside the Plaza de España in Santa Cruz. This was one of two events (the other being the Main Parade on the following Tuesday) for which we purchased tickets for seats in the gradas (stands) to watch the parades. You get a seat with a decent view, very close to the parade and in the area where the TV cameras are located. The participants often interact with the public in the stands, with some coming into the stands themselves, so it would be difficult to get any closer to the action.

Firstly, however, let me assure you that you DON'T NEED tickets to go to and watch any of the carnival parades, in Santa Cruz or any other town on the island, but you CAN buy tickets to get a few extra comforts and conveniences. 

We've bought tickets through Volcano Teide, but other years I've found them via, Atlántico Excursions, it seems to depend on who the council has awarded the concession to that year. These are the official carnival products, promoted by Santa Cruz Town Hall and its carnival organising department.

The ticket selling websites are available in English and the options usually include for seats only, or including transfers and guides to and from hotels. Tickets can also be purchased in person, we understand, from the Casa del Carnaval (Carnival Museum), Calle Aguere, 17, 38005 Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife themselves manage the sale of chairs that line the carnival route, which (in 2019) cost mere €2.50 each. 

The catering was a snack van round the back of the stands and there was an enormous queue, so you might want to bring your own snacks and water if you don't want to miss the parades. There are also portaloos inside the stands area that are only available to those with tickets, which is a great convenience (couldn't resist). The hostesses usher people into the first available seats, though I found them to be empathetic towards old age, reduced mobility and vertigo preventing me from climbing higher. They'll probably also give you a silly hat to wear, which clearly someone has sponsored to get on tele, but isn't a bad idea in the heat of daytime parades. And you may get to perform in a Mexican wave or two, but if you're not up for such activities, you probably won't like carnival anyway!

Comparsa Los Cumbacheros from Lanzarote

Fourth Maid of Honour in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019, Raquel Iboleón Laynez

Camera gets in close to the carnival groups

Michael Jackson look-alike does a walkabout along the parade route

Carnival queen contestant, María José Chinea Cabrera

These amazing sea creatures, opened the Carnival Queen Gala

Carnival Queen in 2019, Priscila Medina Quintero, at the Rhythm & Harmony

More photos from the concurso Ritmo y Armonía

Santa Cruz Carnival Opening Parade 2019

Third Maid of Honour, Inma Afonso Darias at the Carnival Opening Parade in 2019

We arrived in Santa Cruz in the afternoon of Friday, 1 March 2019. This was not my first time at carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, but it was the first time I'd been there for the Cabalgata anunciadora (Opening Parade) and there was a different feel to that I'd observed previously when I'd been mid-way through for any of the other parades. There was that calm that pervades just before an event, as pretty much all of the preparations were done by then, but with a palpable sense of excited expectation of a party about to commence. And what a party! 

Opening Parade approaches in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2019

Third Maid of Honour, Inma Afonso Darias


At the end of the parade the vehicles with the costumes parked up alongside the Plaza de España, before being taken back off for storage. This is the costume of first maid of honour Susana Conde Alba, “Bésame” (Kiss Me), with its designer, Santi Castro at the back door of the car.

Comparsa Los Rumberos at the Opening Parade in 2019

Comparsa Danzarines Canarios at the Opening Parade 2019

Comparsa Danzarines Canarios at the Opening Parade 2019

At the end of the parade are the coches engalanados (decorated vehicles) that bring a whole new meaning to the term "mobile disco". They are, authentically, a whole other party on wheels.

Another of the creatively decorated coches engalanados.

Pirate ship disco on wheels negotiates a tight corner

Last minute costume item?

After the parade, walking down the Calle de Castillo on the way to the party

At the stage in the Plaza del Príncipe de Asturias

And on to the party taking place in the Plaza de la Candelaria

And the Carnival Reggae Festival on the Avenida Anaga

Tenerife Land of Eternal Christmas

Sunbathing SantaDesert Island ChristmasScuba Diving SantaTropical Santa
Santa's Having a Whale of a TimeSurfing SantaWaterski SantaCamel Rodeo Santa
With a wide range of products in each design, click the pics (above) to see the full selections.