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Arroz amarillo (Yellow Rice)

Arroz amarillo – Yellow Rice

A super simple recipe to prepare the perfect yellow rice to accompany any dish.

Ingredients:

500g Rice 
3 Tomatoes
100g Onion
Parsley
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper
100g Peas
Half a garlic clove
Fish stock
Saffron to taste
Oil
Salt

Method:

Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan, lightly brown the chopped onion, about 5 minutes. Add the ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into pieces, sauté for a few minutes, sieve the cooked mixture and reserve. Heat 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil, chop the pepper finely and fry lightly over low heat, add the reserved onion and tomato, stir, add the rice and sauté for 2 minutes, cover with the hot fish stock at a ratio of 2:1 of stock for each measure of rice. Distribute the ingredients evenly in the paella pan, season with salt and cook over medium heat. Crush half a clove of garlic and some parsley leaves and add this to the paella halfway through cooking, along with the cooked peas, season with saffron to taste. Once the stock is absorbed into the rice, let it rest off the heat for a few minutes. 

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1995

Stage in the Plaza de España for Carnival 1995

The theme of carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1995 was Las Mil y una Noches (One Thousand and One Nights) and above is the stage, the design of which was inspired by the film Aladdin and, as was customary then, erected in the capital's Plaza de España. This was the last time the galas took place in the open air, before they were transferred to the Centro de Ferias y Congresos (Fairs and Congress Centre), which opened the following year.

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1995, was 16 year old María Elena Luis Luis in a costume entitled, "Palabras Mágicas" (Magic Words), representing Páginas Amarillas (Yellow Pages) and designed by Marcos Marrero and María Díaz.

The jury included Seville designers Victorio & Lucchino and the comedian Pedro Ruiz, who acknowledged the difficulty in choosing the winner from among the 25 candidates. They held a celebratory cavalcade the same night, after which the carnival took to the streets for the following four days. Below is the spectacular opening of the gala, followed by the Queen's coronation.

In 1995, the court was made up as follows:

1995 Carnival Poster
  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Anabel Jorge González, with a costume entitled "En el centro del huracán" (In the centre of the hurricane), representing Peña Salamanca and designed by David Díaz Mendoza.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Natacha Aguilar Méndez, with a costume entitled "Archangelos", representing Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero and designed by José Julio Rodríguez and Juan Fajardo.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Ana Noelia Martín Medina, with a costume "Mares canarios" (Canarian Seas), representing Palmitos Park de Maspalomas and designed by Armando García.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Lidia López Sebastián, with a costume entitled "La luz de Kronos" (The light of Kronos), representing Almacenes El Kilo and designed by Justo Gutiérrez.



Coso Infantil (Kids' Carnival Parade) 1995

The Cutest Elephants in the Coso Infantil 1995

Back in 1995, the Coso Infantil (Kids' Carnival Parade) took place on the Saturday afternoon. Once Carnaval de Día (Daytime Carnaval) became a thing (introduced in 2008), it was eventually requested to be moved to allow the kids to enjoy that family day out. In more recent years, the Coso Infantil (Kids' Carnival Parade) has taken place on the Friday after Shrove Tuesday, heralding the start of the final, Piñata Weekend, of carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Coso Infantil 1995 on the Rambla de Pulido (before the tram was built)

Miss Piggy at the Coso Infantil 1995

Junior Carnival Queen at the Coso Infantil 1995

Those cute elephants appear in this video of the Cabalgata (Opening Parade):

Potaje de Acelgas (Swiss Chard Pottage)

Potaje de Acelgas Photo: juantiagues Some rights reserved

Acelgas (Swiss Chard)
Chard is native to the European countries of the Mediterranean coast and North Africa and arrived in the Canary Islands after the Conquest in the 15th Century, and has been part of the peasant diet in the autumn and winter, months in which it was collected after the rains, since in most cases it grew on the farmland without the need for cultivation. 

In Las Mercedes (San Cristóbal de La Laguna) this vegetable is prepared in a stew accompanied by pork, chickpeas, corncobs and pumpkin.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

150 gr. chickpeas
150 gr. pumpkin
Corncob, cut into 4 pieces
200 gr. chard (you could also substitute spinach)
300 gr. pork
200 gr. of potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ripe tomato, peeled and deseeded
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
A teaspoon of sweet pimentón
A few strands of saffron
4 tablespoons of olive oil

Preparation

Soak the chickpeas the day before to soften them. 

Add a splash of olive oil to a pan and brown a small onion along with the tomato. When the onion is golden brown, add water. When the water is lukewarm, add the chickpeas. Wash the chard well and chop, taking care that the stems are not too large. Add the pork, corncob pieces, chard and saffron to the pan. Leave over medium heat for 45 minutes.

In a mortar and pestle add a little coarse salt, three cloves of garlic and crush. When everything is mashed, add the sweet pimentón (paprika). Add to the pan.

When the chickpeas are almost done, add the potatoes and the chopped pumpkin to the stew. Once the potatoes are cooked (20 minutes) turn off the heat, letting the stew rest until it is served. As in all Canarian stews, you can add gofio on the plate, or it can be accompanied by an escaldón made with the soup broth.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1994

Maria Candelaria Rodriguez, Carnival Queen 1994

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1994 was Maria Candelaria Rodriguez, with "Diva", designed by Marcos Marrero, representing Casinos de Tenerife.

In 1994, the court was made up as follows:

  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Dolores Reyes Álvarez, with a costume entitled "¡Señores, faltaba yo!" (Gentlemen, I was missing!), representing Comparsa Los Brasileiros and Licor Frangélico and designed by Juan Carlos Armas.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: "Divinidad de una diosa" (Divinity of a goddess), representing Cadena Sabat and designed by Manolo Chinea.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: "Todo lo que buscas lo tengo yo" (I have everything you are looking for), representing Cetesa Páginas Amarillas and designed by Carlos Nieves.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Jacqueline Prieto Montesinos, with a costume entitled "Desde los confines de la Atlántida..." (From the confines of Atlantis ...), representing Escuela de Arte Floral de Santa Úrsula and designed by Juan Álvarez y Gisela Schlicher.
Either the second or third maid of honour was Beatriz Núñez Pérez.

One of the Maids of Honour

Entry by the Escuela de Arte Floral de Santa Úrsula




For Carnival 1994 the theme was Atlántida (Atlantis)

This was back in the day when the staging was erected and the galas held in the open air in the Plaza de España, before Herzog + de Meuron redesigned the plaza in 2008 and the penultimate carnival staged there before the Centro Internacional de Ferias y Congresos de Tenerife (The Tenerife International Centre for Trade Fairs and Congresses), where the staging is erected and the contests and galas are held now, was opened in 1996.

Military Museum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Museo Histórico Militar de Canarias in the Fuerte de Almeyda 
Image: CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS, CC BY-SA 3.0

Of course that's what parking spaces are for!

Model ship. To be fair, not everything has an English label.

Cannon "El Gato" (The Cat)

This one's called "El Miserable". Wouldn't you be, if it hit you?

The flag of the British frigate, "Emerald", it is said, was found at dawn on 25 July 1797,
in one of the [British] launches tied up on the coast of Santa Cruz.

General Gutiérrez Trouncer of Nelson



Interior of the curved courtyard


Scale model depicting the Battle of Santa Cruz 1797


The Ten Best Canarian Desserts

Just some of these Canarian desserts

It has been said that there is a lack of choice of Canarian desserts and I will agree that in most restaurants there is often little on offer. There will be flan and then the choices are mostly international and often just ice cream. At the occasional out-of-the-way and more traditional establishment, you may find bienmesabe and, even less often, frangollo. Also some of the things that we would consider a cake for afternoon tea, or just a sweet to be eaten as a snack, are served as a desert at home in the Canaries. Anyway, here is a list of those considered the ten best Canarian desserts ... and not a flan amongst them! 

1. Bienmesabe is a dessert as calorific as it is sweet. Almonds, egg, sugar and lemon are its fundamental ingredients. The origin of bienmesabe, which today can be enjoyed throughout the archipelago, is probably Arab, but it has been made popular through the work of chef Matilde Arroyo, Gold Medal of the Canary Islands in 2009 on the island of La Palma and, specifically, for her pioneering nature in the dissemination of the rich culinary tradition of the «Isla Bonita». Tejeda, in Gran Canaria, is also famous for its bienmesabe.

2. Frangollo is one of the quintessential Canarian desserts, even more so on the island of Tenerife. Milk, corn flour, lemon, eggs, sugar, butter, raisins, almonds and cinnamon are fundamental ingredients, although there are areas where it is made with water instead of milk and others where they add ingredients like matalaúva (anise), for example.

3. Príncipe Alberto Another of the region's dessert wonders is Prince Albert, whose origin is also on the island of La Palma (it must be emphasized: a paradise for those with a sweet tooth). The main ingredient is chocolate, which together with biscuits dipped in coffee and crushed almonds and hazelnuts gives a dessert that is creamy and intense in equal parts.

4. Rapaduras de La Palma Its conical shape is characteristic of this traditional sweet from the island of La Palma, now spread to other parts of the Canary Islands and whose main ingredient is cane sugar. Gofio, of course sugar, almonds, cinnamon and lemon are its other elements. The basic recipe has given rise, also influenced by its industrialization, to varieties such as milk, chocolate (children love this), coconut or egg.

5. Mousse de gofio (Gofio mousseGofio is the quintessential product of the culinary tradition of the Islands, a product that was the basis of the diet of generations of islanders in ancient times. Today, gofio is still appreciated for its important nutritional value and for its potential in many recipes, including gofio mousse, which also includes eggs, condensed milk and whipping cream. Smooth and delicious. If you are in the Canary Islands, forget about the classic chocolate mousse for a few days.

6. Huevos mole are one of the legacies that Portuguese traditions left in the Canary Islands. In fact, in Portugal, as well as in the Islands, desserts made with eggs are very common, including ovo moles. Egg yolks, sugar and water, and skill, of course, is all that is needed to make this dessert. It is usually served  cold and in glasses.

7. Truchas (Turnovers) are a sweet in the shape of a classic pasty that is usually eaten at Christmas, and that is why, for many islanders, they evoke the warmth of the family, the warmth of home. They are made with flour, sweet potato (there is a more industrial variant with Cabello de ángel (angel hair), a transparent threaded jam made from Siam pumpkin pulp and white sugar), sugar, almonds and lemon as fundamental ingredients. 

8. Polvito uruguayo became popular in the archipelago thanks to the proliferation of Uruguayan restaurants (since it derives from the «chajá» dessert, from the South American country) in various parts of the region, especially in Gran Canaria, to the point that it has been adapted to the ingredients of the islands. Its name comes from the fact that the main ingredients (biscuits and meringues) are made into powders, for its preparation. 

9. Suspiros ("Sighs", a.k.a. Meringue Kisses) are a traditional meringue from various parts of the geography of Gran Canaria. Due to their history in the municipality, they are generically known as Suspiros de Moya, a municipality in which their preparation has made them into a classic of the island's confectionery and, by extension, of the archipelago. Egg, sugar and lemon make up a sweet treat like few others. They can be purchased in many bakeries. 

10. Quesadilla herreña is the traditional cake from the small island of El Hierro, the westernmost island of the Canary Islands. Like Moya's sighs, its popularity is such that it can be purchased prepared in many shops in what is also known as “Isla del Meridiano” (The Meridian Island). It is made with cheese, salt, sugar, flour, eggs, lemon, cinnamon and anise, but without the traditional wood oven these ingredients would not give the particular flavour of this sweet. Fluffy: biting into a cloud would be similar. 

Los diez mejores postres de la repostería canaria

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1993

Carnival Queen in 1993, Carlota Bibiana Sosa Borges

Carnival Queen in 1993 was Carlota Bibiana Sosa Borges with a costume entitled, "Pim, pam, pum... fuego" (Pim, pam, pum ... fire) designed by Marcos Marrero y María Díaz, representing Casinos de Juego de Tenerife

The theme of carnival in 1993 was 'The Circus'. The stage was extended to almost half the surface of the Plaza de España. This was the first year that Antena 3 Television broadcast the Gala for the Election of the Carnival Queen, nationally and internationally (on Antena 3 Internacional); previously, it had been broadcast by RTVE, TVE1, La2 and TVE Internacional.
 
The candidate Mónica García Brito, who wore a costume designed by the local designer Carlos Nieves, entitled "Pachá entra en mi sueño" (Pachá enters my dream), managed to break all the established norms regarding the making of costumes for carnival candidates and set a precedent that has not yet been surpassed. Her costume, which measured 6 meters high and 6.5 meters wide, was the largest costume that has been made for this type of event. Nevertheless, she was chosen as a lady in waiting to the Carnival Queen.
 
The overture of the gala was performed by Tenerife group, "Salsarrica" with the song "El Carnaval es un circo" (Carnival is a circus.)

In 1993, the court was made up as follows:

  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Esther Gómez Megolla, with "Oro negro" (Black Gold), representing Centro Comercial Alcampo - La Laguna and designed by Leo Martínez.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Florynda Cristina Rosa Pérez, with "Jaque mate" (Checkmate), representing Murgas del Carnaval and designed by Carlos Nieves.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Mónica García Brito, with "Pachá entra en mi sueño" (Pachá enters my dream), representing Discoteca Pachá and designed by Carlos Nieves.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Carmina Luengo Rodríguez, with "Maringá se va de fiesta" (Maringá goes to the party), representing Almacenes El Kilo and designed by Leo Martínez.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, April 14th 1931

Allegory of the Spanish Republic,
displaying republican paraphernalia
The Second Spanish Republic began on 14 April 1931 after the abdication of King Alfonso XIII, following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas. One of several contributing causes to the downfall of the Spanish monarchy was the same as that which had befallen Tsar Nicholas II, last ruler of the last imperial dynasty of Russia, in 1917.

Just as Alexandra Fyodorovna (Princess Alix of Hesse) brought to the Romanov family a mutated gene from her grandmother, Queen Victoria, which was responsible for her son's (long-awaited heir, Alexei) hemophilia, so had Alfonso XIII's wife, Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, who was Queen Victoria's favourite granddaughter, brought this affliction to the Spanish Royal Family.

Alfonso XIII had been a posthumous child and therefore was proclaimed King upon his birth, though his mother had been Regent until he took over the reins of government himself at the tender age of 16. In March 1906, Alfonso XIII had visited Tenerife, the first Spanish monarch to do so, even though it was 400 years since the Spanish conquest of the island. Shortly after that, on May 31, 1906, he had married the British princess, who became Queen Ena.

Anarchist attack on the King
of Spain Alfonso XIII (1906)
The King was then, just, 20 and his new Queen, not yet 19 and it was a contentious match from the beginning. The news raised concern among many Spaniards because the prospective bride was a Protestant and not sufficiently royal. The couple had narrowly escaped assassination, when returning from the wedding, an anarchist, Mateo Morral, had thrown a bomb, hidden in flowers, at their carriage, killing 23 and injuring more than a 100. An article (in Spanish) about the attack, by Juan Antonio Pérez Mateos in La Razón, entitled, Cien años del atentado que ensangrentó una boda real (One hundred years after the attack that bloodied a Royal Wedding).

Two of the couple's seven children, the first and last sons, were haemophiliacs.

Age, inexperience and concerns over this affliction, must surely have played their part during Alfonso XIII's reign, in which Spain lost its last colonies in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines and lost several wars in north Africa.

In 1923, Primo de Rivera had become dictator. In 1930, King Alfonso XIII revoked the dictatorship, but a strong anti-monarchist and republican movement led to his leaving Spain in 1931, abandoning the country with no formal abdication. The new constitution declared Spain a workers' republic, broke up the large estates, separated church and state, and secularized the schools.

But the Republican joy was relatively short-lived. It was also the last period of democratic government in Spain before 1977. The Republic suffered a terrible crisis when General Franco, then military commander of the Canary Islands, attempted a coup on 18 July 1936, the start of the Spanish Civil War.

April brings heavy rain storms in Tenerife

Hamlet of Las Lagunetas (Buenavista del Norte, Tenerife)

Storm in 1901 caused eight deaths in Tenerife

The rain and wind, accompanied by a strong electrical storm, hit various towns in Tenerife between April 10 and 14, in 1901, causing eight deaths in the village of Las Lagunetas (Buenavista del Norte, Tenerife). In Gran Canaria, the intense and copious rains originated serious floods in the ravines in the north of the island that destroyed bridges and roads, causing the towns to remain isolated for a week. In the case of the Guiniguada ravine in the capital, the chronicles of the time speak of the great avenue that crossed the Palo Bridge and flooded part of the Triana and Vegueta neighbourhoods.

Memorable rainy season in 1977

An intense and memorable rainy season lasting several days, between 10 and 13 April 1977, in the Canary Islands brought precipitation of more than 350 l / m2 in the south west and of more than 220 l / m2 in the south east of Tenerife. San Cristóbal de La Laguna was partially incommunicado for several days. The powerful storm of Holy Week 1977 is one of the most important of the 20th century in the Canary Islands. It affected the entire western province and Gran Canaria, but was especially strong in Tenerife. The recorded rainfall in 24 hours: 358.9 mm in Vilaflor on 11 Apr; 260.3mm at Los Rodeos on 10 Apr. 

In El Escobonal (Güímar), also in Tenerife, more than 400 mm rain fell during this storm, when its annual average is around 380 mm. In Bajamar, in the Barranco de San Juan, the rains caused some sections of the highway that connects Bajamar with Punta del Hidalgo to be washed away. It caught everyone off guard, with their minds still on the recent Los Rodeos accident, the worst in civil aviation

Efemérides meteorológicas en Canarias del siglo XX y XXI Parte III 

Vegetable stew with red beans from Ortigal

Vegetable stew with red beans from Ortigal

The best remedy against the cold - this recipe for vegetable stew with red beans - came from an elderly woman from the La Laguna neighbourhood of El Ortigal

Ingredients:

250 gr. of canned red kidney beans 
1 carrot
1 piece of pumpkin
1 bunch fresh spinach
250 gr. of green beans
2 medium potatoes
1 white onion
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1 ripe tomato, grated
Olive oil, a bay leaf and salt
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 litre of vegetable stock

Method:

Start by making the sofrito, adding a good glug of olive oil, thinly sliced onion, the two types of peppers, finely chopped, and the grated tomato into a deep pan. Cook over medium heat so that the vegetables are poached.

Put the beans in a colander and rinse well, reserve. Cut the rest of the vegetables (potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and beans) into pieces, then add them to the pan once the sofrito is well poached, season and add the sweet paprika, then cook the vegetables alone for a few minutes. Add the vegetable stock and enough water until the vegetables are covered and let it cook for about 8 minutes.

When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the red beans, stir and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Chop the spinach leaves and reserve.

Add the spinach near the end of the cooking time, correct the seasoning and cook for the last few minutes for all the ingredients and the stock to mix well and thicken a little. 

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 1992

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1992, Patricia Rodríguez Pérez

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in
 1992 was the 17 year old, Patricia Rodríguez Pérez with a costume entitled, ‘Catire Goayana’, designed by José Julio Rodríguez y Juan Fajardo and sponsored by the capital's CC Maya shopping centre. The theme that year was 'Cinema': The stage in the Plaza de España evoked a Western movie set.

In 1992, the court was made up as follows:

  1. 1st Maid of Honour: Laura Infante Castilla, with "Made in Canarias", representing McDonalds and designed by Leo Martínez.
  2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Sole Yunta Domínguez, with a costume entitled "Montecarlo", representing Almacenes El Kilo and designed by Leo Martínez.
  3. 3rd Maid of Honour: María del Mar Esteban Vargas, with a costume entitled "Máquina Total Dos" (Total Machine Two), representing Galerías Preciados and designed by Leo Martínez.
  4. 4th Maid of Honour: Raquel Bedoya González, with a costume entitled "Y ahora vengo yo" (And now I come), representing Casinos de Juegos de Tenerife and designed by Carlos Marrero.
Here is coverage of the Comparsas in 1992, among them many names that still feature at carnival: Cariocas, Bahia Dorada, Joroperos, Brasileiros, Valleiros, Tabajaras, Corumba, Danzarines Canarios, Rio Orinoco, Rumberos.

The wind sculpture by César Manrique

The wind sculpture by César Manrique

This sculpture is located in the centre of the square in front of the Auditorio de Tenerife, the Castillo de San Juan and the Parque Marítimo César Manrique, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It was built in 2001 by Aquilino Dorta Pérez, although it was designed by César Manrique, whose sketches to make it were interpreted by Juan Amigó and José L. Olcina. Manrique, in addition to being an architect and painter, designed several sculptures, always based on mobility, which he called "toys of the wind." They are generally metallic structures formed by a composition of geometric elements that rotate with the action of the wind, interacting with each other. The various sketches that he left after his death are being made and the mobile sculptures are being placed in different parts of the Canary Islands. 


Tenerife in April 2021

Holy Week Procession in La Laguna Koppchen, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

April 2021 begins with two Public Holidays on, Thursday 1 April (Jueves Santo/Maundy Thursday) and Friday 2 April (Viernes Santo/Good Friday). 

However, there are no events as the Bishopric has suspended acts of worship and processions outside the churches, because of the ongoing pandemic.

Tegueste Council, "in its commitment to supporting the handicraft sector", has organized a Local Craft Fair, which will take place on the weekend of April 10 and 11 at the Mercado del Agricultor de Tegueste Farmer's Market, from 9:00 a.m. at 2:00 p.m..

Mayor of Tegueste, Ana Rosa Mena, explained that the Fair, which had been postponed at Christmas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will comply with the access restrictions and security measures dictated by the health authorities to avoid contagion. "Guaranteeing the safety of the participating artisans, as well as visitors is our priority," said Mena. Likewise, the Councillor for Crafts, Eladia López, announced that in total there will be 20 artisans who will participate in this fair and that they are specialized in ceramics, embroidery, jewellery and textile manufacturing, among other disciplines. “It is a great opportunity to show support for local artisans, especially this sector that has been so hit by the crisis generated by COVID-19, and that is part of the culture, traditions and lifestyle of the municipality”, said the councillor.

The handicraft guide

"The Tegueste Handicraft Fair joins other actions promoted by the council to highlight the work of professionals in the artisanal sector, such as the handicraft guide, prepared and distributed by the  council itself", explained a note to the press sent from the Council.


Municipal Holidays: Monday 19 April is the Festivity of Santo Hermano Pedro in Vilaflor de Chasna and Monday 26 April, the day after the Festivity of San Marcos, is a holiday in the municipalities of Icod de los Vinos and Tegueste

On the Rally Calendar for 2021, the Orvecame Norte Rally is on 24 April.

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.