Carnival goes ahead in Santa Cruz
A judge in Santa Cruz has lifted an injunction granted by an earlier court which threatened to ban the nightly street celebrations during the Tenerife capital’s world-famous carnival.
The judge put to an end a worrying few days for carnival organisers after the earlier court hearing ordered the ban after some residents claimed that the carnival was too noisy.
Local officials and the Spanish government sided with carnival organisers against a group of some 15 residents, who claimed that the all-night revelry stopped them sleeping and violated their constitutional right to domestic privacy.
Santa Cruz’s raucous carnival dates back over 200 years and has survived famine, epidemic and the Spanish Civil War to become one of the world’s best-known. In world terms, it is considered to be second only to the celebrations in Rio de Janeiro.
Worried island officials had calculated that banning or restricting the the night-time carnival activities could cost the local economy a massive 5,000,000 Euros and seriously damage the island’s tourism reputation.
The carnival was officially banned during the 36 years of dictator General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975. He outlawed carnival but many places, including Tenerife, openly defied the ban, continuing to stage the carnival celebrations but under a different name.
The theme of this year’s carnival in Santa Cruz is the world of fashion.
The celebrations in the capital always begin with the choosing of the Carnival Queen, a lavish all-night event which is screened live on television and attracts huge audiences across the island.
The carnival continues with wild street parties, loud music, dancing and thousands of people in costume. So numerous are the crowds that it seems at times that the entire population of the island is out partying.
Main events in the Santa Cruz Carnival are:
Wednesday Feb 14, 9.30pm: Gala Election Night of the 2007 Carnival Queen.
Friday Feb 16, 8pm: Evening parade through the streets of Santa Cruz formally announcing the start of the carnival celebrations. The parade is followed by a huge fireworks display.
Tuesday Feb 20, 4pm: The main event of the carnival, the Grand Parade, begins in the afternoon and continues for several hours. The parade is also televised. Another huge fireworks display follows at 9pm
Wednesday Feb 21, 9pm: Another big day in the carnival calendar, Funeral of the Sardine, when a giant papier-maché fish is paraded through the streets at the head of a mock funeral procession complete with a huge entourage of mourners in black and other celebrants in more garish costumes (men dressed as pantomime dames, for instance).
Saturday Feb 24, 6pm: Children’s Carnival Parade.
Sunday Feb 25, 10am: Morning parade of vintage cars; 12 midnight: Grand Fireworkds Display to conclude the carnival events.