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Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1991

Carnival Queen in 1991, Isabel Luis Hernández

In 1991, Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was Isabel Luis Hernández, with a costume entitled, ‘Al ritmo de la noche’ (To the rhythm of the night), designed by Leo Martínez and sponsored by J&B Whisky.

The theme for carnival that year was 'Space': The tower of the Plaza de España was integrated into the scenery, transforming it into a giant telecommunications antenna dominated by metal, neon and laser lights.

It has to be said that 1991's carnival poster, designed by Mel Ramos, is the most saucy we've seen to date.

In 1991, the court was made up as follows:

  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Concha Hernández Padrón, with a costume entitled "A La Guaira en correíllo cargada de loros stop. Besos, Concha" (To La Guaira ...), representing Almacenes El Kilo and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Míriam Rodríguez Afonso, costume "Viajar en mascarón", representing Almacenes Número 1 and designed by Miguel Ángel Castilla Abreu.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Gema Medina Cambero, "Escarlata O'Hara" (Scarlet O'Hara), representing Galerías Preciados and designed by Leo Martínez.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Beatriz Curbelo González, with a costume entitled "Como una tormenta de Carnaval" (Like a carnival storm), representing Centro Comercial Maya and designed by José Julio Rodríguez.

Guided Tour of the Auditorio de Tenerife

Auditorio de Tenerife "Adán Martín"

Plaza de los Alisios / Trade Winds Plaza






View from the balcony on the Auditorio. In the foreground (right) is the Castillo Negro, in the middle ground is the Parque Marítimo César Manrique and the hillock behind is the Palmetum: a botanical garden which has transformed a rubbish tipA Paradise Built On Top Of A Landfill

Last time I was in Santa Cruz, I accepted an invitation for a Guided Tour of the Auditorio de Tenerife, the emblematic building, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. As I had my non-Spanish speaking husband with me, the lady who took us round - yes, just the two of us - explained everything in English. You do need to reserve in advance through details here.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1990

Carnival Queen in 1990, Carmen Gloria Trujillo García

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1990 was Carmen Gloria Trujillo García with a costume entitled, ‘La Fenicce’ (The Phoenix), designed by Justo Gutiérrez and sponsored by Almacenes El Kilo (established in the 1960s, El Kilo has become well known as the textile supplier of reference in the Canary Islands.)

Santa Cruz Carnival in 1990 took place between 16 February and 4 March and had as its theme, 'Story World': The scenery in the Plaza de España was in two parts. One was "happy" (with a smiley-faced house) and the other "dark", with a tree whose branches were shaped like hands in a tribute to the film Poltergeist.

In 1990, the court was made up as follows:

  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Natalia Ramos Hernández, with a costume entitled "Pulpa de tamarindo" (Tamarind pulp), representing Whisky J&B and designed by Leo Martínez.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: María Concepción Hernández Padrón, with a costume entitled "Reflejos de mi tierra" (Reflections of my land), representing National Nederlander and designed by Leo Martínez.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Virginia Jesús Toledo Palenzuela, with a costume entitled "Castor blanco" (White beaver), representing Casino Taoro and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Fátima Rodríguez Rodríguez, with a costume entitled "Luz y color de Tenerife" (Light and color of Tenerife), representing Centro Comercial Maya and designed by José Luis Rodríguez y Juan Fajardo.

Our Lady of Africa Market Santa Cruz

Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África

The Market of Our Lady of Africa is a building in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, popularly known as La Recova, of neo-colonial architectural style inaugurated in early 1944. The municipal market is located in this building. open from Monday to Saturday from 6am to 2pm and on every Sunday of the year from 7am to 2pm. 











Bienmesabe, Punta Hidalgo style

Bienmesabe

Various culinary preparations are known with the name "bienmesabe" (it tastes good to me), throughout the Spanish-speaking world, not always desserts, with the most varied ingredients. In the Canary Islands it is a traditional dessert, made with almonds, sponge cakes, egg, sugar and lemon. Its origin is probably Arab, but in the islands it has taken on its own nature. From the hand of the Municipal Market of La Laguna, today we bring a recipe for this dessert provided, a few years ago, by Carmen Melián, aunt of Chago Melián, and this is how the «bienmesabe» of Punta del Hidalgo in Tenerife is made.

Ingredients:

½ Kg of sugar
2 glasses of water
¼ Kg of almonds, peeled and ground
8 yolks, beaten

Method:

Prepare a syrup, putting the water and sugar on the heat. It is ready when the syrup reaches the thread stage. Separate a little of this syrup and reserve. To the rest of the syrup, add the peeled and ground almonds. Stirring over low heat, let it cook little by little; when the almonds "jump" it is a sign that the preparation is at its point. Away from the fire and stirring continuously, add the beaten yolks, a little at a time. Cook in a bain-marie until the yolks take color. Pour everything into the dish in which it is to be served, placing some thin biscuits dipped in the syrup for a few minutes at the bottom. Serve cold. 


(In the video version below, lemon and cinnamon are added.)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1989

Carnival Queen in 1989, María Remedios Ramos Díaz

1989 Carnival Poster
Carnival Queen in 1989 was María Remedios Ramos Díaz, with a costume entitled, ‘Chicharro carnavalero’ (approximately, a carnival going sardine - although if we were being pedants, a chicharro is an atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus)), designed by José Julio Rodríguez and sponsored by CC Maya (a former shopping centre in the Tenerife capital).

The theme in 1989 was "Millennial Egypt" and this was the first year the staging for the contests and galas was erected in the Plaza de España. It was decorated with two large sphinxes and an Egyptian-style palace gate.

Summary of Carnival in 1989 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

In 1989, the court was made up as follows:

  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Ana Reverón Hernández, with a costume entitled "Éxtasis" (Ecstasy), representing Casino Taoro and designed by Marcos Marrero.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Ana María Fajardo González, with a costume entitled "Recuerdos de una santiguadora canaria" (Memories of a Canarian saint), representing Rondallas del Carnaval and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Candelaria Rodríguez Siverio, with "Bahía de Santa Cruz" (Santa Cruz Bay), representing Almacenes El Kilo and designed by Leo Martínez.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: María Dolores Fernández Rodríguez, with "Andrógena" (Androgen), representing Galerías Preciados and designed by Leo Martínez.

The ruins of Gordejuela in Tenerife, rated among the most beautiful on the planet

Elevador de la Gordejuela

Social media has made this corner of Los Realejos, where the island's first steam engine was installed, into an international phenomenon

At first glance it looks like an abandoned castle, an enchanted mansion, or the secret lair of a pirate ... The centuries-old ruins of the Gordejuela water lift, on the Los Realejos coast, have unintentionally become a new tourist attraction in the town, since photos and videos of this evocative corner have been shared around the world through social networks.

Civitatis, the leading company in the sale of guided tours, excursions and free tours, has prepared a list that includes some of the most beautiful abandoned places on the planet. And in first place on that ranking appear the ruins of Gordejuela. The rickety walls of this great complex built at the beginning of the 20th century, where the first steam engine on the island of Tenerife was installed, resist imposingly against the swell of the Atlantic Ocean, forming a postcard picture that is impressive from the first glance. On that international list, Gordejuela rivals other extraordinary ruins in beauty, such as Bannerman Castle (USA), Rubjerg Knude Fyr lighthouse (Denmark), Kolmanskop (Namibia), Belchite (Zaragoza), Salar de Uyuni ( Bolivia) and the ghost town of Bannack (Montana. USA).

For decades, the ruins of the water lift remained forgotten and practically unknown to outsiders to Los Realejos. They began to become popular as a result of the conditioning of the tourist trail, up to the nearby Rambla de Castro, by the council and the Cabildo. The path connects this natural setting with Playa Los Roques and the Punta Brava neighbourhood, in Puerto de la Cruz. Halfway there are the ruins of Gordejuela, at the bottom of a steep ravine, attached to the cliff, on the almost wild beach of La Fajana.

The conditioning of the path along this coastal strip, of great natural and scenic beauty, immediately attracted both tourists and the people of the island, to the point that the Rambla de Castro is currently one of the most visited corners of Tenerife. As a consequence of the growing popularity of the trail, the expansive effect of social networks and the internet arrived very soon, where the spectacular landscapes of Castro and Gordejuela are the usual setting for reports and videos of all kinds. One of them, in particular, went viral years ago when a young man appeared who was walking on the edge of the abyss on one of the walls of the ruins of the water lift, while he was recorded from a drone. Images like this definitely turned Gordejuela into a point of attraction for the curious and lovers of adventure.

At present, the ruins of Gordejuela lack any specific protection. The building still stands without the roof, which fell in decades ago, as did the wooden floors on the different levels. Nor does it retain the arches, doors or windows, and the lower gaps have been bricked up by the council for security reasons. The Asociación Hispania Nostra, a non-profit organization dedicated to the defence, safeguarding and enhancement of Spain's cultural and natural heritage, has included it on the Red List of Heritage due to the risk of collapse.

The mayor of Los Realejos, Manuel Domínguez, welcomes the idea of this place being used as an interpretation centre on the use of water in Tenerife, but given the scale of the project to rehabilitate the property, it would only be feasible if the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands collaborated on it. Therefore, at the moment that idea is more a dream.

The truth is that the ruins of the Gordejuela elevator are a historical and cultural treasure in Los Realejos, an important vestige of the industrial history of the Canary Islands. For this reason, and in order to avoid its definitive disappearance, promote its enhancement and, in addition, guarantee the safety of the many visitors who come to the vicinity, it has been proposed to the Los Realejos council that they initiate procedures for its declaration as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).

AN HISTORICAL MILESTONE

The Hamilton family, still of great importance in Tenerife, arrived on the island at the beginning of the 18th century. They were producers and exporters of bananas, tomatoes and potatoes, had a shipping company and operated coal ships. They were co-founders of CD Tenerife, the Hotel Taoro and the Real Club Náutico. In addition, they were responsible for the construction of the Semáforo de Igueste former semaphore station and, also, of the Elevador de Aguas de Gordejuela.

In 1898, the company Hamilton & Co. established the Sociedad de Aguas de la Gordejuela, whose objective was to exploit the existing springs on the coast of Los Realejos, in the area that owes its name to its first owner and founder of the convents of Los Realejos, the gentleman Juan de Gordejuela y Mesa. The work of the elevator, located in an old gofio mill, marked a milestone in its time because the first steam engine on the island of Tenerife was installed inside it. In 1902, the prospect of rising prices led the company to buy all the shares in the company. From that date on, a station with steam pumps was built to lift some 10,000 pipes a day - 8,000 cubic meters - to a reservoir located 270 meters high, through an iron pipe two kilometres long. For the subsequent distribution through the La Orotava Valley, a twelve-kilometre aqueduct was built.

The industry consisted of two units: the first, apart from a warehouse and the party house, had another house, with a 50 meter high chimney, in which the steam engine was located. The other building, the most representative of the complex, was at the time one of the largest in Tenerife, with five levels. The work, which was projected and supervised by the military engineer José Galván Balaguer, was described in its time as "the work of the Romans." La Laguna journalist Leoncio Rodríguez published an article in the newspaper El Progreso, under the pseudonym of Luis Roger, in 1908, after visiting the place, which he described as follows: "on a cliff cut across the sea, at the mouth of a huge and deep ravine, it will not be able to express the magnitude of the undertaking, nor will it give an exact idea of ​​the material efforts or the display of intelligence that its execution reveals".

The total cost of the installation exceeded one million pesetas at the time, which placed the promoter company in a delicate financial situation. In addition, economic expectations varied due to the international situation, which affected the fruit trade. In order to guarantee a remuneration for the investment, they opted to lease it in 1910 to Elder & Fyffes, and then sell it to them in 1919. The technological advances of the following years made it necessary to change the lifting method, which made the complex as it had been, unnecessary and was gradually abandoned.

A century later, and despite the dilapidated state of that pioneering complex, these words written by Leoncio Rodríguez are still valid: “Here is the spectacle of Gordejuela; where science is twinned with poetry and where life seems to feel the breath of tragedy”. 

Eligen las ruinas de Gordejuela entre las más bellas del planeta

When health services was a neighbour

The town hall of Santa Úrsula has erected panels to pay tribute to these women

Santa Úrsula Town Council remembers five women who took care of the health of the town's inhabitants for decades

There was a time, not too long ago, when the closest thing to a public health service was a neighbour. Women like Anastasia, Maruca, Juana, Antonia or Catalina who, for a good part of their lives, dedicated themselves to taking care of the health of their neighbours with the modest knowledge and materials that they were able to acquire. For decades they were in charge of assisting deliveries or injecting treatments at a time when going to the doctor was a luxury. The Santa Úrsula Council has remembered them, along with other prominent women of the municipality, through panels in the streets.

The mayor of the town, Juan Acosta, a doctor by profession, acknowledges that these women carried out "fundamental and extraordinary work with very rudimentary means." He remembers that their work made up for the lack of doctors in a time when "there was generally one doctor for three or four towns." This is the story of three midwives and two practitioners from Santa Úrsula.

Anastasia

Anastasia Hernández Delgado was born in Santa Úrsula on December 25, 1905 and died on December 1, 1990, at the age of 85. She belonged to a humble family of farmers who resided in El Farrobillo. She was the mother of six children (Efigenia, Manuel, Avelino, Nazario, Carmen and Antonia) and a very hardworking woman, who always went to the fields to collect food, worked at home and also worked as a cook and midwife. Her family says that she "helped many women in this municipality and neighbouring municipalities to give birth to their children at home."

María Candelaria

María Candelaria Abreu Gutiérrez, known as Maruca, was born on November 15, 1926 and died on April 18, 2014. Her relatives remember that “she began to give injections in 1958, shortly after returning from Cuba, where she emigrated between 1952 and 1957. She started practicing unexpectedly, since the doctor Don Valerio prescribed some injections for her father and the person who had to give them was not there, so he taught her how to do it. She spent many years with this practice, both day and night. Her relatives came to look for her and accompanied her back, always walking. She never got paid. People gave her potatoes or vegetables as a thank you. In 1975 she changed her address and moved from El Farrobillo to Santa Úrsula, but people kept coming to her house to look for her. For 25 years she had a glass syringe and three needles of different lengths. The doctors in the area (Don Valerio, Don Alfonso, Don Ventura or Don Gil), drew her the amount that she had to extract from her bottle, so that she did not make a mistake. She always boiled water to disinfect syringes and needles. "She never had any infection from the thousands of injections she gave," her family recalls.

Juana

Juana González Delgado, known as Juana La Gaga, died at age 65 on October 3, 1961. She had nine children (Adriana, Carmela, Venancio, Marcos, Alejandro, Gloria, Felipa, Marina and Dominga) and spent most of her life in Cuesta de la Villa. One of her daughters relates that “husbands came to look for her; they travelled on foot around neighbourhood and, on occasions, by donkey". When a delivery got complicated, she sent for Don Emilio Ruiz, a doctor from La Orotava. Juana never asked for anything in exchange for her services, but people gave her something of their harvest as a thank you.

Antonia

Antonia León Gómez, known as Antonica, was born on February 5, 1938 in La Corujera. She was the third of nine brothers and sisters from a humble family. From a very young age, she had the need to learn to give injections. Don Valerio, the doctor from La Victoria, taught her to inject by pricking a doll, because she had a rather sickly younger sister. She had no choice but to learn, at just 16 years old, to avoid having to travel daily. She used a glass injector that she had to boil before using. She bought the injector, the needles and everything necessary to be able to inject whoever asked. She never said no and she didn't charge.

Catalina

Catalina García was born in Santa Úrsula in 1890. According to her granddaughter, “while she looked after her house, the grounds and raised her five daughters, she also worked as a midwife”. She began assisting the mothers of La Tosca de Ana María and she became one of the first local midwives of the 20th century. This month is 53 years since her death. 

Cuando la sanidad era una vecina

Sopa de pescado (Fish soup)

Sopa de pescado - Fish soup

Fish soup in the style of La Punta del Hidalgo

Ingredients:

2 cantareros (You may wish to substitute! See below.)
1 large onion
2 tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of parsley
fish stock with prawns
1 small glass of rice
oil 

Method

The cantareros are split in half and fried in hot oil, including the head. In the same oil, fry the chopped onion and, when softened, add the chopped tomatoes and the chopped garlic cloves; finish frying, covering the pan so that it is done well. Chop the parsley finely and add to the pan. Place the fried fish in a large pan and cover it with water, adding fish stock. Let it cook over low heat, for about an hour. If you want to add some seafood, such as prawns, these are added when the soup has cooked for ¾ of an hour. After this time, strain the broth into another pan, bring to a boil and add the rice, cooking for around twenty minutes. Shred the fish and add this and any seafood back to the soup.


cantarerosName given to two species of fish of the scorpion family (Scorpaena scrofa and S. elongata), which reach up to 40 centimetres, red or cinnamon in color, thick and spiny head and a bristling dorsal fin of thorns that serve to defend themselves, producing very painful stings. The cantarero lives in rocky bottoms, between 20 and 200 meters deep. In some areas of the Canary Islands they're also known by the names of rocace and rocaz.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1988

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1988  Laura Alberto Barroso

1988 Carnival Poster
Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1988 was Laura Alberto Barroso wearing a costume entitled, ‘Cleopatra, reina del Nilo’ (Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile), designed by Leo Martínez and representing Almacenes Galerías Preciados. This was the last year that the Plaza de Toros (Bullring) was used as the main stage for the contests and galas.

The theme of carnival in 1988 was Wild World: The colonnade of the previous year was recycled, painted in salmon and topped with white palm leaves made from fiberglass, giving the appearance of palm trees. Every two or three palms were on platforms which were reproductions of previous carnival Queen costumes.

In 1988, the court was made up as follows:
  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Leticia Betancor Fleitas, with a costume entitled "El carro de la aurora" (The Chariot of Dawn), representing Centro Comercial Maya and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Nieves María Mederos Domínguez, with a costume entitled "Claro de luna" (Moonlight), representing Restaurante "El Ministro" Tegueste and designed by Leo Martínez.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Magaly Barbuzano Hernández, with a costume entitled, "Esto es Carnaval" (This is Carnival), representing the Casa de Venezuela en Canarias and designed by Miguel Ángel Castilla Abreu.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Natalia Ramos Hernández with a costume entitled, “Que calor, que calor” (How hot, how hot!), representing the Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero and designed by Luis Dávila Viera. 

Welcome to Hell's Island

The Mediterranean Sea, The Catalan Atlas Copia de 1959 del original de 1375 / CC BY

There were officially seven Canary Islands, until La Graciosa became the eighth, despite its tiny size and no tarmac roads, but the archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, as well as a series of adjacent rocks. In the pre-Conquest 14th Century, 11 islands were named, but Tenerife wasn't Tenerife. 

The Catalan Atlas of 1375 shows the islands almost completely and accurately mapped (only La Palma is missing). The 11 islands are named (from east to west) as Graciosa (La Graciosa), Laregranza (Alegranza), Rocho (Roque), Insula de lanzaroto maloxelo (Lanzarote), Insula de li vegi marin (Lobos), Forteventura (Fuerteventura), Insula de Canaria (Gran Canaria), Insula del infernio (Tenerife), Insula de gomera (La Gomera), Insula de lo fero (El Hierro). 

Insula del infernio translates to Hell's Island (not the film!) 

The name 'tenerefiz' is first given in writing, 10 years later, alongside 'Infierno' in the 1385 Libro del Conoscimiento (Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms).

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival 2021

Senior, Adult and Junior Guardians of the Sceptre

With no carnival and no new carnival queens in 2021, Santa Cruz de Tenerife chose instead, three Guardians of the Sceptre: Naomi María Cabrera Pulido representing the adult queens, after obtaining 18% of the vote in her category; Antonia Garrido Francés representing the senior queens, having gained 26% of the vote and Ylenia Rodríguez Domínguez was the clear winner in the junior category with 49% of the vote in her category. After two and a half hours of the television show Santa Cruz Corazón del Carnaval, Laura Afonso and Alexis Hernández proclaimed the former carnival queens who obtained the greatest popular support, as guardians. The three make up the team who will guard the sceptre of the capital's carnival until the 2022 edition.

The Guardians of the Sceptre elected were:

  • Adult: Naomi María Cabrera Pulido previously Carnival Queen in 2011, on that occasion with "Cien años de historia" (One Hundred Years of History), designed by Leo Martínez and representing newspaper El Día. This time she wore a creation by Alexis Santana, entitled "Volver a vivir" (Relive), representing Urbaser.
  • Senior: Antonia Garrido Francés, Senior Carnival Queen in 2019 with "Soy Fortuna" (I'm Fortuna), designed by Antonio Santos Arteaga, representing Bingo Canarias and Bingo Ciudad Laguna. As guardian, "Aroma a Venecia" (Scent of Venice), designed by Arganda de la Rosa, representing the town council of Los Realejos.
  • Junior: Ylenia Rodíguez Domíngez who was Junior Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz 2019 with “Entre el pasado y el presente” (Between the past and the present), designed by Santi Castro and representing children's boutique La Princesa y el Peis, in 2021 was dressed in a costume entitled "Historias reales" (Royal Histories), designed by Ángel González and representing Boutique infantil Erilau.
The twenty queens wore adapted costumes, with reduced dimensions, the lack of wheels and the absence of support personnel during the parade.
 
The theme of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival in 2021 was Carnivals of the World. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival was not celebrated in its usual manner in the streets and only some events and documentaries related to the carnival were broadcast virtually.

The Casa del Carnaval (House of Carnival) museum hosted an exhibition "Traditional Carnivals in the Canary Islands" with representations of carnival groups from Lanzarote, El Hierro, Fuerteventura and La Palma, among others.

The ‘Santa Cruz, Corazón del Carnaval’ (Santa Cruz, Heart of Carnival) show marked the closing of the Virtual Carnival 2021, an edition marked by the adaptation of the usual programming to formats that guaranteed the event with health security measures. The gala, which concluded with a heartfelt tribute to the Honorary Queen of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife since 2004, Celia Cruz, was punctuated by many musical performances among which the presence of the Mexican singer Carlos Rivera stands out, who together with more than thirty Canarian artists and representatives of the different Tenerife carnival groups, contributed a soundtrack full of nostalgia and hope in equal parts.

"Quimbara", by Tropicana, chosen as the best performance in "La Noche de las Comparsas"

"La Noche de las Comparsas"

The performance "Quimbara" (2018), by Tropicana, won the award for the best choreography of recent decades, after a popular vote with which concluded 'La Noche de las Comparsas' (The Night of the Comparsas), television show broadcast last night, Saturday 6 March, in which eight carnival groups competed for this recognition. After more than three hours of broadcasting, presenters, Alexis Hernández and Laura Afonso proclaimed at around 01:30 hours this morning, the troupe led by José Bolaños as the winner of the night. This new accolade was delivered by the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, and by councillor for fiestas, Alfonso Cabello.


Santa Cruz en Carnaval 1987

Carnival Queen Costume 'Tajaraste' from 1987, on display in the Casa del Carnaval

Carnival Poster 1987
Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1987 was a moment of crucial importance in the island's and the celebration's history for a variety of reasons. It was the first year that the carnival festivities had a theme, which in 1987 was Roma (Rome), for which the perimeter of the Plaza de España was encircled by a colonnade, evoking the Ionic style and giving it the appearance of a circular Roman temple. The lintels that joined each pair of columns was adorned with two chicharros (Atlantic horse mackerels), crowned with laurels.

Most of all, 1987 was the year that the carnival made history by getting into the Guinness Book of Records, with the dance on Shrove Tuesday becoming "the largest gathering of people in an outdoor plaza to attend a concert".

Carnival Queen in 1987 was Mónica Raquel Estévez Martín, then 16, in a costume entitled, 'Tajaraste', designed by Leo Martínez and inspired by the typical costume of Tenerife, representing Almacenes El Kilo.

Maids of Honour in 1987 were: 
  1. Irene Hernández Morales with a costume entitled, "Origen de luz" (Origin of light), representing Calzados "Romea", designed by José Julio Rodríguez  
  2. Elizabeth Suárez Santos with a costume entitled, "Así pasó el cometa Halley" (This is how Halley's comet passed), representing the Casa de Venezuela en Canarias and designed by Miguel Ángel Castilla Abreu 
  3. Sandra Lobenstein Recio with, "Cabañuelas de febrero" (February Cabañuelas), representing Casino Taoro, designed by Marcos Marrero 
  4. María Candelaria Díaz Álvarez with costume, "XTRO siete punto omega", representing Centro comercial Maya and designed by Justo Gutiérrez  
The senior carnival queen in 1987 was Alfonsa Rodríguez Fernández, with a costume entitled, 'Fantasía brasileña' (Brazilian Fantasy), representing the old folks home, Hogar del Pensionista Nº1 de S/C in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 

Junior carnival queen in 1987 was María Guacimara Martín Peña with a costume entitled, 'Campanilla de los bosques' (Bell of the woods), designed by Pedro José Ortega and Juan de la Rosa and representing Almacenes Elle.


Video: Coronación Reina del Carnaval de S/C de Tenerife 1987

The Carnival Queen Gala took place in the Plaza de Toros (Santa Cruz Bullring). Further videos show the performances of the comparsas, Los Joroperos and Las Cariocas and a parade of all of the carnival personalities and vintage cars.

Carnival Queen in 1987, Mónica Estévez, was interviewed 31 years later in 2018 and said that she had grown up in the next street from where designer Leo Martínez was located, surrounded with carnival from a young age. She would go there to see the girls and the costumes and was always saying she wanted to present herself as a candidate ... repeatedly. It seems that Martínez agreed to present her, pretty much just to shut her up. She didn't ask anything about the costume and never saw it complete until three days before the gala.

Santa Cruz Carnival Dance 1987

The multitudinous dance that went down in history: Celia Cruz with the Sonora Matancera and Billo's Caracas Boys led the line up of an unforgettable Carnival Tuesday night in 1987 for the more than 240,000 attendees.

On March 3 1987, the dance on Carnival Tuesday put Santa Cruz de Tenerife into the Guinness Book of Records after gathering the astonishing number of people (240,000 was the number officially recorded by the notarial deed) dancing in the street to the songs of Celia Cruz with Sonora Matancera, Billo's Caracas Boys and Tenerife orchestras Maracaibo and Guayaba, in a show never before seen on the islands with 40,000 watts of sound and spectacular lighting. On the night of Monday to Tuesday of Carnival the last orchestra left the stage at 06.30 hours, but the audience, almost as numerous as at 11.00 at night, continued to dance to recorded music in the kiosks. Many partied on in various parts of the capital and others went to Las Teresitas to take a dip in the sea.


Video: Carnival Main Parade in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1987

Neither the heat nor the fatigue of the previous night prevented 200,000 people from concentrating to watch the cavalcade that began at 3:30 pm on the Tuesday afternoon. The number of spectators, facilitated by the Local Police, was significant, since the population of the city at that time was 210,000 inhabitants. Some 25,000 people participated in the parade, in addition to 119 groups, 20 floats and more than 100 decorated cars. The fireworks display finale was the prologue of the great dance. The City Council's intention was that this dance be the busiest in the world and with the Celia-Billo's duo, success was assured. Almost half the island of Tenerife met in Santa Cruz that Carnival Tuesday to experience an environment impossible to describe. The Plaza de España and Candelaria, the Alameda del Duque de Santa Elena, and all the surrounding streets, were full to bursting.

Celia Cruz in Tenerife in 1987

Celia Cruz was already a living legend when she came to Tenerife: Her powerful voice opened the doors to the whole world with songs like Bemba colorá, Usted abuso, Nadie se salva de la rumba, Que le den candela, La vida es un carnaval… Until her death in 2003, Celia was the best ambassador of Tenerife's carnival. Her connection with the island became so strong that she confessed that she calmed her longing for Cuba among the islanders, and performed in a trance-like state, as if she had returned to her native island.

Celia passed like a whirlwind through Tenerife. She arrived on the island on February 27 and the Cuban Association of the Island was waiting for her at the South airport. Staying at the Hotel Botánico, Celia and her inseparable Pedro Knight, enjoyed the parade on Friday from the Town Hall, receiving the love and recognition of the carnival groups that noticed her presence. Thousands of people gave her a standing ovation at the two previous concerts held in the Plaza de Toros (Santa Cruz Bullring), and she continued in ecstasy singing Bemba colorá for 20 minutes. That double success attracted more anticipation for the performance of Carnival Tuesday. The queen of salsa continued in a trance and dedicated to the audience the Pasodoble Islas Canarias a cappella in one of the most memorable moments of an unbeatable Carnival.

El multitudinario baile que pasó a la historia con Celia Cruz

Corporation of the Island Council of Tenerife

Cabildo Building in Santa Cruz de Tenerife Koppchen, CC BY 3.0

The Corporación del Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (Corporation of the Island Council of Tenerife), simply known as the Cabildo de Tenerife, is the governing body of the island of Tenerife. Constituted on March 16, 1913 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in a session held at its Town Hall, where the first Corporation was also elected. The Tenerife Council, like the other councils of the Canary Islands, has a series of its own powers established in the Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands as well as a series of powers delegated to the other territorial administration bodies. It is a governmental and administrative form typical of the Canary Islands, which in addition to the functions of the island government provides services and exercises the competences of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. In 1957, it was agreed between the Island Council of Tenerife and the Brotherhood of La Candelaria de Sevilla, since the Virgen de la Candelaria is venerated as the patron of this brotherhood in this Andalusian city, as it is in Tenerife as patron of the Canary Islands, as the patron of the Corporation of the Island Council of Tenerife.

Koppchen, CC BY-SA 3.0
Its current headquarters alongside the Plaza de España, designed by the architect José Enrique Marrero Regalado, houses departments of the Cabildo which also has other decentralized offices in various locations and with different headquarters in other parts of the metropolitan area. This building stands out for its large tower crowned by a clock, one of the most representative symbols of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Inside there is a very attractive art collection, which includes the murals that completely adorn the Noble Hall popularly called the "Sistine Chapel of the Canary Islands", with paintings made in 1960 by the painter José Aguiar, declared a Site of Interest Cultural de Canarias (BIC) in November 2011. At present the Cabildo is the reference entity of the island, its authentic insular government.

Plaza de España, s/n, 38003 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. Phone: +34 901 50 19 01 and +34 922 23 95 00. Official website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Tenerife in March 2021

View of the sea through a window in Tenerife

March 2021 is probably going to be the quietest on record. Even if life had continued as normal, carnival in Santa Cruz would have been over and with Easter not until early April, there are no public holidays and no municipal holidays during the month. All we have is an online or television window through which to view the virtual carnival events culminating with 'La Canción del Siglo' (Song of the Decade) and 'La Noche de las Comparsas' (The Night of the Comparsas), broadcast on 5 and 6 March respectively, and gala, ‘Santa Cruz, Corazón del Carnaval’ (Santa Cruz, Heart of Carnival) on March 7. 

There are still no romerías, fiestas or other mass events taking place, because of the pandemic. The Palo Blanco Hillclimb is scheduled to take place on Saturday 27 March, but we cannot say whether public will be permitted.

Friday, 19th March 2021 is Día del Padre (Father's Day) in Spain. In Catholic Europe, celebrated on March 19 (St. Joseph's Day) since the Middle Ages.

Tenerife Land of Eternal Christmas

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