After more than 20 years, posts here will now only be occasional ( |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2022 Carnival Poster |
Just 10 days before the original date of the carnival inauguration, it became inevitable that Santa Cruz Carnival 2022 would be postponed. At a Zoom meeting on 17 Jan, attended by 103 people: organisers, representatives of the carnival groups, etc., it was decided that it will be June or nothing. And the intended dates were decided to be from Friday, 3 June to Sunday, 26 June.
Mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, says the change in the dates is due to the rise in infections caused by the sixth wave of COVID and, is a way to “save” the celebration. Other cities have already set the precedent, such as Valencia with its Fallas or Cádiz with its Carnival. Now it is the turn of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which has decided to move the Carnival to June. With the arrival of the sixth wave of COVID, as explained by the mayor, they have had to make decisions, always to guarantee the safety of people, while also being able to celebrate a party in which more than 9,000 people are involved. “At the moment, the data has taken us to level 4, and the forecast of the Government of the Canary Islands is that Tenerife will continue at that level until the end of the month. That makes going back to rehearsals in the short term practically impossible, and, even if the alert were lowered to level 3, it would still be very difficult to maintain the group meetings”.
Final Schedule of the Santa Cruz Carnival
The definitive calendar of the Santa Cruz Carnival was made public at the end of March. The party will become the first great event of the post-COVID era in the Canary Islands, once all the restrictions imposed by the regional government have been lifted. The evolution of the pandemic has ended up proving the Santa Cruz City Council right in its decision to delay the celebration of the festival until June, which will allow for a Carnival of "contests, galas and [for the celebrations in the] street".
After the inauguration of Carnival 2022, on Friday, June 3 at 9:30 p.m. at the Tenerife International Centre for Trade Fairs and Congresses (Recinto Ferial), the Rondallas begin the calendar of competitions, on Saturday, June 4 at 5:00 p.m., in the emblematic Guimerá Theater stage. On Sunday, June 5, at the Recinto Ferial, the Choreographic Festival will begin at 5:00 p.m.
The Guimerá Theater will also host the Los Fregolinos concert on Tuesday, June 7 at 8:30 p.m. A day later, on Wednesday, June 8, also at 8:30 p.m., it will be the turn of the La Zarzuela Festival.
Continuing with the final calendar of the Santa Cruz Carnival 2022, during the second weekend of June, the Carnival Queen Election Gala will be held on Friday, June 10 at 9:30 p.m. On Saturday, June 11 at 9:00 p.m., it will be the turn for the Musical Groups Contest and on Sunday, June 12, starting at 5:00 p.m., it will be the Election Gala of the Senior Carnival Queen.
From Monday 13 to Wednesday 15 June, the 3 phases of the adult murgas will take place, starting at 9:00 p.m., with the final being held on Friday, June 17, also at 9:00 p.m. The Comparsas Contest will be on Saturday, June 18 at 9:00 p.m.; and to close the week, the Junior Carnival Queen Gala, which will be on Sunday, June 19 at 6:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m.
In the last week of June, the 3 phases of the children's murgas contest will take place, from Monday 20 to Wednesday 22 June, starting at 9:00 p.m.
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| LA SARDINA by iLoveTheWorld This year's 'Burial of the Sardine According to San Juan' - the Burial of COVID, to be more exact. - kicked off the most important festival in the city two and a half years after its last edition, and opens the door to a massive weekend of non-stop partying. The sardine was pardoned, at least until next year. |
Thursday, June 23, will be when, starting at 8:00 p.m., the Carnival in the street begins with a species of Burial of the Sardine. On Friday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m., the traditional Carnival Opening Parade will begin, which will run into the night time dances to the orchestras on the stages distributed throughout the streets of Santa Cruz. On Saturday, June 25, the Daytime Carnival will be held, which will continue until it merges with the second night of carnival in the streets.
On Sunday, June 26, and as the culmination of the 2022 carnival, the Daytime Carnival will be held, to conclude at 8:00 p.m. with the Rhythm and Harmony Contest on Anaga Avenue. A fireworks display will close this edition, the most anticipated in the history of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
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| Stormtrooper S/C at the Casa del Carnaval with Mayor José Manuel Bermudez and Councilor Alfonso Cabello. Theme of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2022: Science Fiction. |
Dust off your lightsaber: ‘Science Fiction’ is the theme of Santa Cruz Carnival 2022
The calima was the protagonist of the Santa Cruz Carnival in 2020, which, for many, was an omen of what would come later. After a year of pandemic, the Carnival of 2021 was a virtual, on screen party only. For this reason, the Carnival of 2022 is for many the party of revenge, that of "goodbye pandemic, hello vaccine." At least that is how it it is being interpreted from the level of participation in the vote to choose the theme for next year's Carnival, the largest in recent years, with almost 6,000 people. And among the three proposed themes, Science Fiction emerged as the clear winner, with more than half of the votes.
As acknowledged by the Councillor for Fiestas, Alfonso Cabello, "everyone will have their own interpretation, but I would like to think that the theme has been liked a lot and that people are looking forward to Carnival."
Science Fiction competed with Television and New York - the latter a subject preferred by the director of the Galas, Enrique Camacho - but Cabello's favourite, was the winner. It seems that the desire to dream and escape from a harsh reality has prevailed, even more than that of any film that comes to mind related to the genre, such as Star Wars itself, which just celebrated 44 years since its premiere.
Zombies, superheroes, aliens, time travel, parallel realities, machines that conquer the world or even killer viruses that infect the world's population are some of the themes that will nurture the imagination of carnival people, who, once vaccinated, will go out to the street, if there is a street party. Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez has already warned, “the final decision on whether the party will be held will be taken at the end of September and we will do so based on the evolution of the pandemic. For the chicharreros, normality will return when thousands of people can enjoy themselves, in the street”.
Stormtrooper S/C is a Star Wars fan association in Tenerife. It was born in 2014 as a carnival group in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, who participate in the main and opening parades. The following year they began to carry out their first social and charitable events in addition to participating in the Tenerife Lan Party. The group is characterized by the creation of their costumes from scratch and for it's sense of humour. It is estimated that it is made up of around 60 members, the centre and main symbol of the group being the Stormtroopers or Imperial Soldiers.
Thirty years ago: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1992
Twenty years ago: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 2002
Ten years ago: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 2012
Puerto de la Cruz Carnival
Thursday 24 February 2022 - Election of the Carnival QueenSaturday 26 February 2022 - Proclamatory ParadeWednesday 2 March 2022 - Burial of the Sardine- Friday 4 March 2022 - Men´s Marathon in High Heels
Saturday 5 March 2022Sunday 6 March - Main Parade
More details: Puerto de la Cruz International Carnival 2022
Los Gigantes Carnival
Los Gigantes held carnival events in August 2022.Los Cristianos Carnival
As ever, we won't even guess when Los Cristianos carnival will be held.