Miss Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1935

Onagra Lorenzo, in 1935

Although the carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has almost certainly been celebrated ever since the first European settlers arrived (in 1605 Gaspar Luis Hidalgo, alluded to the custom of swapping the sexes through costumes) and the first written references to carnival date from the end of the 18th Century, it was not until 1935 that carnival had it's very first Queen, then denominated "Miss Carnival". Onagra Lorenzo Díaz is part of the history of Carnival celebrations, as in 1935, at only 16 years of age, she was the first Carnival Queen of Santa Cruz de Tenerife with a costume entitled 'Vampiresa' (Vamp or Femme Fatale), designed by herself and her sister. Her daughter, Herminia Gil, remembers her mother as a "woman ahead of her time", always linked to the most important festivities of the Tenerife capital.

Herminia Gil recalls that in 1935 her mother was designated "Miss Carnival" - because at that time the concept of queen had not yet been introduced - in the Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero (Circle of Friendship 12th of January), which at that time was known as "El Recreo", the institution that she also represented. Although the dress has not been preserved, because it was set on fire on an occasion when Onagra lent it to a friend, Herminia Gil treasures the sash, in addition to several gifts her mother received. There is a street named Onagra Lorenzo Díaz in the Chamberí neighbourhood of the city.

A year later, in 1936, the title went to Ana de la Torre del Pino, who also represented the Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero with a costume entitled  'Ana, Empress of Austria', designed by Hermógenes González de Guisado. Both events were celebrated and organized by the Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero.

With the intervention of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship, there wasn't a Carnival Queen again in Santa Cruz de Tenerife until 1965.

La primera miss del carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife