Tenerife Carnival Dates for 2014

Carnival 2014 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

• Wednesday, February 26th, 2014: Gala for the Election of the Carnaval Queen. This spectacular event is best seen on TV, from 9 p.m.
• Friday, February 28th, 2014: Opening Parade, usually from 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 4th, 2014: Main Parade, from 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 5th, 2014: Burial of the Sardine 9 p.m.
• Saturday, March 8th, 2014: Daytime Carnaval 1 p.m. onwards.
• Sunday, March 9th, 2014: Parade of Vintage Cars 10 a.m. onwards.

(Always providing that things go according to the usual schedule, they generally do, but we cannot be held responsible for changes that are beyond our control.)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 2013

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2013, Soraya Rodríguez Castro

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2013, was Soraya Rodríguez Castro with "Volare" (Fly), designed by Saliarca Creativos and representing Centro Comercial Carrefour – Meridiano.

In 2013, the court was made up of:

1. 1st Maid of Honour: Chloe García Poole, with a costume entitled "Memorias de África" (Memories of Africa), representing Barbacoa Tacoronte Fiesta Canaria Carnaval and designed by Expedita Hernández.
2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Regina Ramos Darias, with "Mármara" (Marmara), representing newspaper La Opinión de Tenerife and McDonalds and designed by Daniel Pagés.
3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Leticia Ramos González, with a costume entitled "Suspiros de Invierno" (Sighs of Winter), representing Manualidades Grial and El Rincón Extremeño and designed by Dámaso Ramos.
4. 4th Maid of Honour: Irene Martínez Trigueros, with a costume entitled "Que lo disfrutes…que lo aproveches" (Enjoy it ... take advantage of it), representing Zona Comercial Tranvía and designed by Santi Castro.

Gala de Elección de la Reina del Carnaval 2013

The theme of Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2013 was "Bollywood: India" and it was the first time that the theme of the carnival is chosen by online voting. 

The stage was inspired by those used in the Eurovision Song Contest, with a large LED screen (much wasted, since it was nothing more than a screensaver) the largest in Europe. Among the jury who chose the Carnival Queen, were journalist, Miguel Ángel Daswani; the Bollywood actor and choreographer Sunny Singh (born in Bombay) and the president of the jury was the Indian consul in the Canary Islands, Gope Boagwandas Mahtani. 

The 2013 carnival was marked by a disastrous accident that occurred during the queen's election gala, in which one of the costumes, which had a device that released a form of firework, set fire to the adjacent one and caused serious burns to candidate, Saida Prieto, the next candidate and six other people, including her assistants, the designer of Saida's costume, and the designer of the costume that caused the fire. The organizers did not want to cause alarm among the attendees for fear of a panic reaction that would have caused deaths, as in Madrid Arena, despite the fact that the fire was about to reach the stage, which only did not happen due to the rapid intervention of the firefighters. 

Saida's burns were so serious that the political authorities made the snap decision to suspend the Friday night's opening parade as a symbol of respect, provoking many reactions, both from carnival goers who wanted to enjoy themselves and from tourists who had paid a lot of money to see the party, as well as from the fair operators, people that rented kiosks and people in general who had the party as their main source of income. Some suggested something perhaps more logical, dedicate the parade to the affected girl, instead of simply suspending the act. However, these voices were not heard, probably due to the chaos  and the attempt by those in charge to finding a solution as rapidly as possible. 

Video: Reina del Carnaval S/C Tenerife 2013

Tenerife Carnival Dates for 2013

Carnival 2013 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

• Wednesday, February 6th, 2013: Gala for the Election of the Carnaval Queen. This spectacular event is best seen on TV, from 9 p.m.
• Friday, February 8th, 2013: Opening Parade, usually from 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 12th, 2013: Main Parade, from 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, February 13th, 2013: Burial of the Sardine 9 p.m.
• Saturday, February 16th, 2013: Daytime Carnaval 1 p.m. onwards.
• Sunday, February 17th, 2013: Parade of Vintage Cars 10 a.m. onwards.

(Always providing that things go according to the usual schedule, they generally do, but we cannot be held responsible for changes that are beyond our control.)

Tenerife Rally Calendar 2012

Rally Isla de Tenerife 2011

The Tenerife Motor Sports Federation have published their calendar for the 2012 season and the following events are to take place on the island this year:

Date	Rally	Hill Climb
30 & 31 Mar		San Miguel
27 & 28 Apr	Orvecame Norte
11 & 12 May		Arico
1 & 2 Jun		El Tanque
15 & 16 Jun	Villa Granadilla
22 & 23 Jun		Guimar
13 & 14 Jul		Arona
27 & 28 Jul		Guia de Isora
14 & 15 Sep	Villa Adeje
5 & 6 Oct		Tamaimo
26 & 27 Oct	Isla Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 2012

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2012, Carmen Gil González

Carnival Queen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2012 was Carmen Gil González, with a costume entitled, "Imperio" (Empire), representing Zona Comercial Tranvía, designed by Santi Castro.

In 2012, the court was made up by:

1. 1st Maid of Honour: Guacimara Afonso Martín, with a costume entitled 'Del color de la guayaba' (The color of guava), representing newspaper La Opinión de Tenerife and McDonalds and designed by Daniel Pagés.
2. 2nd Maid of Honour: Cecilia Navarro Arteaga, with a costume entitled 'Quisiera ser' (I would like to be), representing Barbacoa Tacoronte Fiesta Canaria Carnaval and designed by Expedita Hernández.
3. 3rd Maid of Honour: Jéssica Guardia Carrillo, with 'Aurora' (Dawn), representing NTM Digital and designed by David Hernández.
4. 4th Maid of Honour: Fabiola Vera Martínez, with 'Siboney', representing Centro Comercial Meridiano, by Saliarca Creativos.

Carmen Gil González, Reina del Carnaval 2012 de Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The theme of carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2012 was "Flower Power". The stage was initially going to be giant, but due to lack of budget it ended up being a long panel, with sixties motifs, such as a colourful bus, peace symbols and a Vespa scooter, with two other bright coloured panels on the right and left. On stage there were also images of previous carnival queens, legends such as "Don't worry be hippy" and figures and drawings of characters in hippie costumes. The stage was also decorated with buildings in the city drawn in a psychedelic style. 

At the carnival queen gala, themes such as the arrival of man on the moon, the Vietnam War, student protests, the fight for the protection of nature and the emergence of the New Age were highlighted. These themes were mixed at the beginning of the performance in a conceptual way trying to emulate the artistic forms of that time. It was followed by a tribute to music groups and singers of the 60s, among which the Beatles stood out, with a huge yellow submarine, the Rolling Stones, with the characteristic mouth and large tongue, Fifth Dimension and Ben E. King with mythical songs performed by musicians from the islands, some of them with the lyrics changed to a more carnival tone to melodies such as, "Yellow Submarine ", "Stand by me ", "Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In". 

VIDEO: Reina del Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2012

TelevisiónCanaria broadcast the Cabalgata del Carnaval (Carnival Opening Parade) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, for the first time in its history. 

VIDEO: Cabalgata del Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2012

Tenerife Carnival Dates for 2012

Carnival 2012 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Carnaval 2012 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

• Wednesday, February 15th, 2012: Gala for the Election of the Carnaval Queen, best seen on TV, from 9 p.m.
• Friday, February 17th, 2012: Opening Parade, usually from 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 21st, 2012: Main Parade, from 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012: Burial of the Sardine 9 p.m.
• Saturday, February 25th, 2012: Daytime Carnaval 1 p.m. onwards.
• Sunday, February 26th, 2012: Gathering of Vintage Cars 10 a.m.

(Always providing that things go according to the usual schedule, they usually do, but we cannot be held responsible for changes that are beyond our control.)

Witches transform into donkeys in Tenerife

Las Burras de Güímar Photo: By Mataparda

It’s Tenerife, it’s carnival and so the fun continues with yet more curious festivals that would make a night at your local BDSM fetish club seem a little dull. In Güímar, for instance, witches will once more turn into donkeys at their carnival closing festivities known as Las Burras de Güímar (The Donkeys of Güímar). 

Legend has it that during a funeral, strange donkeys suddenly began to appear and accompany the funeral procession. Upon arrival in the town square, the local people thought they weren't really donkeys, because there was something very "fishy" about them. Local farmers then came up with the [quite possibly stupid] idea of poking them with a knife and, when pierced, the alleged donkeys become terrible and disgusting witches who begin to invoke Satan. The witches start dancing until the bishop arrives and holds an exorcism, calling upon the Archangel Michael for help, who comes down from heaven to fight with the Devil.

When San Miguel (that's the Archangel Michael or Saint Michael, not the beer) manages to kill the Devil after a gruelling fight, the Bishop also mandates that the donkeys be burned at the stake to restore tranquillity to the town.

This piece of street theatre dates all the way back to 1992, when it was born with the objective of making the Burial of the Sardine celebrations more popular, drawing upon various local beliefs related to witchcraft, including the belief that witches were able to transform themselves into donkeys in order to gain entry into the homes of the country folk, to cast their spells.

It begins with the appearance of strange women in various balconies and windows. Once the sardine has passed them, they transform into donkeys. They make their way together to the square, where they scare the living daylights out of some peasants, who work out that they are these famous Burras.

So they turn back into witches and form a coven, invoking a demon, who appears as a large figure with a skull for a head, accompanied by numerous imps. The witches dance with the demons, filling the plaza with noise, until the sound of religious music is heard, which indicates the presence of the Inquisition. At that moment, a group of friars, accompanied by a Bishop arrive, who begins an exorcism, calling upon the Archangel Michael for help. The latter appears in the sky, accompanied by various angels and fight against the big demon. Once the demon lies defeated on the ground, the Bishop orders the burning of the witches on the bonfire along with the sardine. (And everyone lives happily ever after.)

It usually takes place on the Friday after Shrove Tuesday, in the Plaza de San Pedro in Güímar, starting at 9 p.m. And of course it’s free. Just think how much you’d have to pay for the drugs to have an equivalent experience anywhere else!