A little history
Latin rhythms, colorful parades, comparsas or murgas and a whole range of shows - every year, the Santa Cruz Carnival welcomes thousands of people at the beginning of February. It has become a not-to-be-missed event, considered by some to be the world's second-largest carnival after Rio de Janeiro, combining Venetian elegance with Brazilian fever and following a single guideline: to have fun. Although its arrival in the Canaries is almost certain to have followed that of the first Europeans, it wasn't until the 18th century that its first literary references appeared, when the diary of Lope Antonio de la Guerra y Peña, a Canarian writer, mentions the existence of a ball celebrated in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, during which comparsas- groups of singers, musicians and dancers taking part in a carnival - were already performing. Throughout the 20th century, the festival continued to be held, but under the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and General Franco, it was renamed the "Winter Festival" to avoid any possible prohibition, before reverting to its carnival name in 1976.
A constantly growing reputation
The festival's popularity grew in the 1960s, and in 1962 the annual poster was created to accompany each edition, with works by renowned artists such as Javier Mariscal and César Manrique. In 2009, the poster became the subject of a competition open to all. The decade of the 1980s was also an auspicious one, with the site being declared a festival of international tourist interest on January 18, 1980, and themed for the first time in 1987. The year was also marked by a Guinness Book record: 250,000 people attended the open-air concert given by the famous Cuban singer Celia Cruz. The year 2000 marked a new milestone, with Santa Cruz de Tenerife becoming the world capital of carnival and the venue for the XXth convention of the Federation of European Carnival Cities. Throughout its history, the main stages of the festivities (competition or election of the Carnival Queen) have changed location, moving from the Guimera Theatre to the Plaza de Toros, then to the Plaza de España, the International Congress Centre and the esplanade of the Parc Marítimo César Manrique, finally alternating according to the years and the needs of the scenography. Today, the carnival's popularity can be summed up in a few figures: every year, tickets for the most emblematic shows, such as the adult murgas final and the gala for the election of the queen, sell out within an hour of going on sale, and the broadcast of the election of the queen is a hit on television. On the strength of this success, the carnival aspires to become part of UNESCO's Intangible Heritage, which would make it the sixth carnival in the world to do so, and the first in Spain.
A different theme each year
Since 1987, a different theme has been chosen each year to serve as a color and guideline for the carnival. With a very varied selection. While the Roman theme was the first to be chosen, the Ionic-style columns deployed in the Plaza de España on that occasion were repainted and recycled the following year to evoke the selva, the virgin forest, in a somewhat random fashion. However, there are a few recurring sources of inspiration, such as the cinema, with westerns in 1992, The Thousand and One Nights of Aladdin in 1995, Broadway musicals in 2005(Grease, Saturday Night Fever and West Side Story), horror cinema with the reference to Nosferatu in 2009, and the world of Bollywood in 2013. Recapturing the spirit of an era has also often been a theme. From prehistory and the Middle Ages, to the Roaring Twenties, when the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge stood side by side, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, and the 1960s, with their Flower Power, hippies and protest songs against the Vietnam War, and the 1980s, with Game Boy and Freddie Mercury. Not to mention a return to the future, with 2001, the year of the Space Odyssey, and the installation of a space shuttle in the Plaza de España. The evocation of geographical locations (Mexico, China) or creative universes (magic, cartoons, graffiti) also served as a creative basis for the inventiveness of this carnival. However, certain themes have left a more indelible mark on our memories. Every carnival-goer remembers the year 1989, when the Plaza de España was decorated with sphinxes and palaces to evoke the Egyptian millennium, and which remains in everyone's mind as one of the most beautiful carnival decorations. Nor has anyone forgotten the circus-like year of 1993, when a candidate for the title of Carnival Queen wore a 6-metre-high, 6-metre-wide costume entitled "Pachá entra en mi sueño" (Pachá enters my dream), which not only left its mark on the collective memory, but also contributed to the international renown of the carnival, which was widely broadcast on television at the time. Although in terms of international media coverage, 2017's Caribbean theme had the greatest impact, thanks to the re-enactment of a cruise to various destinations hosting other carnivals: Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, Bahamas, etc. In 2018, the carnival achieves a first by retaining three women as mistresses of ceremony to lead the "fantasy" theme, with witches, unicorns and dragons, to take on the social networks dedicated to the event. We can also salute the feat achieved in 2019 for the "deep sea" theme, which saw a 6-meter-high bust of Poseidon arrive in Tenerife, made by Valencian master falleros and transported by boat from Valencia to Santa Cruz. After the 50s celebrated in 2020, its interruption in 2021, its celebration in summer in 2022, in the post-Covid era and New York City in 2023, the 2024 carnival put the spotlight on television.
Almost a year of preparation
Each year, carnival festivities last a month, usually from January to February. Shortly before Christmas, the carnival poster is unveiled, and a month before the election of the carnival queen, everything kicks off with the official presentation of the year's program on Calle de Noria. The pre-carnival period is punctuated by various events: a choreography festival, a masquerade costume competition, the presentation of the queen candidates in the town hall's VIP lounge, the choice of the carnival song and a comparsa competition for adults and children. For carnival groups, however, preparation lasts almost a year, during which enthusiasts rehearse and perfect their comparsas, murgas (sung parodies of the powers that be) and rondallas (a musical group of string instruments), each with its own specific character. Once underway, a distinction is made between the official carnival, which brings together over 100 groups of around 50 participants, in charge of murgas, comparsas, rondallas and disguises, and the street festival, during which the locals put on a show of their own. Before the street gets going, the first highlight is the grand gala to elect the Carnival Queen, usually held on the Wednesday of the first week of festivities. During this competition, the candidates parade on a 1,200-square-meter stage, dressed in grandiose and fanciful costumes that can weigh from 150 to 200 kg, and are judged by a jury of celebrities, supplemented by SMS voting in recent years. Equipped with her scepter, the winner parades throughout the carnival and represents the Canaries at tourist ferias, much like a Miss France. Then, on the Friday before Mardi Gras, it's the big day of the Cabalgata, a spectacular parade announcing the opening of the carnival: the Queen and her bridesmaids, whose float is accompanied by comparsas, private floats, and tens of thousands of people and musical groups forming a multicolored snake that winds its way through the city, usually starting in the Parc de la Granja and ending in the Plaza de Europa or behind the Cabildo de Tenerife, not far from the Plaza de España, to the rhythm of batucadas and other Latin sounds. As night falls, the end of the 4-hour parade marks the official start of the fiesta in the streets, with carnival groups mocking political and social events via the murgas. Saturday is all about dancing in the streets, which are also packed with chiringuitos and floats. And if you're thinking of going, Calle Bethencourt Alonso, popularly known as Calle San José, is the main venue for this fiesta, which also has three main stages, including Plaza de España and Plaza del Principe. Since 2008, Carnival Sunday has involved families, and Monday is the highlight of the three-day event, with DJs on all stages.
Great parades and burial of the sardine
Then comes Carnival Tuesday, the high point of the festivities, when crowds of onlookers flock to watch the Coso, the grand parade of floats, decorated cars and groups of carnival-goers, who usually make their way down the avenue de l'Anaga. The following day, Ash Wednesday, the sardine is buried. Carried in her carriage through the mourning streets of Santa Cruz, she is finally burned, accompanied by a procession of mourning widows. Her death marked the end of the festival's spirit. But the festivities return the following weekend, with the Piñata Chica on Saturday and Sunday. Shows, popular dances and parades follow one another once again on Saturday, and are followed with such interest that this day has become as popular as the big Carnival day on Monday, especially internationally. And if you happen to be there, you should know that from 12 noon to 4 p.m., music concerts take place simultaneously in the squares hosting the city's three main stages: Weyler, Principe and Candelaria. Sunday, finally, will see car competitions and concerts, but above all a splendid fireworks display. The real end of Carnival... until next year.
If you're not lucky enough to attend, you should know that it has had its own home, the Casa du Carnaval, since July 2017. Set in a large, modern space of over 1,000 m², it houses a permanent exhibition with costumes from different years and a few elements that give a glimpse of the atmosphere, such as the first poster from 1962. New elements are added every year.
