Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Cultural highlight in the Canary Islands
Life as a digital nomad brings it with itself that you indulge in the local culture and in February in the Canary Islands that meant Carnival. Charlie had heard before that the biggest one would be in Tenerife, but she had no clue how big it really would be. She had already seen the opening ceremony and some outdoor parties od the carnival in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and decided to go to Santa Cruz for a weekend for that first-hand experience.
Every year, there was a new topic for the Carnival and the one for 2023 was: New York. Participants are not required but encouraged to dress up according to the theme which is announced at least six months in advance. That weekend in February 2023 when Charlie was in Santa Cruz, the city saw more yellow taxis than the real New York and it seemed as if there was a conference for statues of liberty.
Opening Parade
The official Carnival season started already in January and in the run-up to the big weekend, there were multiple dance and costume contests as well as the election of the Carnival queen. The official opening was on a Friday in mid-February with a parade from Plaza de la República Dominicana to Plaza de España. It was meant to start at 8 p.m. and already an hour before, people sat and stood along the road to secure a front-row spot. The parade started with a delay of almost 30 minutes, but it was worth the wait. First up were a marching band and dancers, before the Carnival Queen came down the road in a richly decorated throne. It was so big that there were people walking alongside to ensure the right alignment on the road.
Other dancers and marching bands followed the queen as well as the dames of honour, each of them on an equally rich throne. Once the adults had passed, the children’s court with a queen and the dames of honour followed.
Most of the dance groups looked similar to the pictures we all know from the Carnival in Rio with not much clothing and plenty of feathers. Other groups in the parade dressed up to the New York in yellow taxi costumes, as cheerleading squads or even carried miniature landmarks of the Big Apple. There were other non-New-York-themed costumes such as ice creams, firefighters and pirates. Charlie’s favourites were the imitators of Charlie Chaplin and Michael Jackson. Both played their roles very well not only with their looks but also in the way they moved.
Street Parties all over town
The parade lasted more than three hours and Charlie didn’t watch it all. Instead, she walked down towards the squares Plaza del Príncipe de Asturias and Plaza de España to see what else there was happening in town. It was beautiful to see the parade coming down the palm tree alleys of Santa Cruz. There were multiple stages all through the city centre and where there was no stage, people would play music and sing and dance. There was a little street party everywhere.
All over the town were food and drink stalls so that nobody would have to go thirsty or hungry and you could also find plenty of portable toilets.
By the Plaza de España were the so-called Carrozas, themed vans that each had a party for themselves. Not finding the right music that night was certainly not a problem and the whole town felt like a giant festival ground.
Charlie’s host at the AirBnB where she was staying had warned her about not dressing up. It was okay the first night as there were lots of people in normal clothes, but from the Saturday onwards you really wanted to wear at least a hat or you would feel completely out of place in between all the costumes. If you are travelling to Tenerife for the Carnival, you can easily get a list-minute costume in any of the shops in Santa Cruz. That’s what Charlie did!
Las Rondallas
The Saturday was according to Charlie’s AirBnB host the night everybody had been waiting for. From 5 p.m. onwards, there was music and dancing and the evening was dedicated to the so-called Rondallas. These are Carnival groups that interpret in a musical-lyrical way classical songs. They usually dress up according to the Carnival theme and perform on stage as part of a contest. Charlie’s first impression was that of a Gospel choir, however for most of the groups, it was more speech song than singing.
The Rondallas are typical for the Carnival in Tenerife and are not to be found in the same way anywhere else.
Rhythm and harmonies in contest
The Saturday night contained another contest called “Ritmo y Armonía”. This was another parade by the Queen and dames on their thrones. This time, the dance groups would perform in the street as part of a competition. They danced their way down the Avenida Francisco La Roche to Plaza de España where there were stands for the audience to sit on. Those that didn’t have a ticket for the stands, lined up along the road again. Some even got there two hours before it started. The official start was 9 p.m., but it took almost an hour for the first group to reach the square because they were dancing and not marching down. It was beautiful to see them coming towards the crowds and Charlie had a hard time fighting for her front-row spot to get some photos.
Similar to the Friday night, the festivities turned into a fully fleshed-out festival all over the city and the party lasted the whole night.
Day Carnival
The festivities continued the Sunday at lunchtime with music and dance everywhere. There were groups in costumes everywhere and this time it felt really strange to not wear one. Charlie got the ferry back to Las Palmas at 4 p.m. and there was a Reggaeton concert at Plaza de Francisco that you could hear and see all the way along the harbour and even from the ferry. It seemed to Charlie as if the Sunday was less about a specific cultural agenda than about street parties. If you’re there with a group of friends, you’ll definitely have the best time at this massive Carnival festival.
You can find the full programme and information about each year’s topic on the official website of the Carnival of Tenerife. You should book your accommodation as early as possible and if you are sensitive to noise, it is advisable to book a place a bit further away from the city centre.
