Carnival season 2017 in La Gomera

In the island's capital carnival has begun

The carnival poster of Playa de Santiago and Alajero

Carnival headquarter of VGR is in La Playa this year

Vallehermoso's carnival poster

Next carnival starts in Vallehermoso today

Vallehermoso's carnival poster. Festivities begin today and go on until the 21st 

The Pope Said Goodbye To The Sardine

Each community in the Canary Islands ends the carnival festivities with the 'funeral of the sardine' when a large papier-mache sardine full of pyrotechnics  is burnt and pushed into the sea, accompanied by the wailing of 'grieving ladies', i.e. men dressed in women's clothes who 'cry their eyes out' as the sardine dies and carnival ends. This year Valle Gran Rey had an Egyptian sardine and even 'The Pope' attended its funeral last night.

Hot samba rhythms are always part of the carnival in the Canary Islands and each town has their own samba school. The one above came from La Palma island to attend the funeral and they were amazing.

Carnival 2016 Valle Gran Rey slideshow

See Carnival 2016 slideshow of yesterday's parade below:

Carnival in Valle Gran Rey begins today

Carnival 2016 begins in Valle Gran Rey today and continues until Saturday night. The main stage is in the harbour of Vueltas this year and the theme is 'Egypt'. The parade starts from the town hall in La Calera on Friday at 5pm (see programme above).

La Gomera carnival season 2016 begins

Carnival time in the Canary Islands has begun and this is a huge event that doesn't exactly keep to the traditional carnival timetable. It may go on well after Ash Wednesday, even getting close to Easter some years, as each community stages their own and wants participants from neighbouring towns. The main events are in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria and in Santa Cruz on Tenerife, the latter being the second-largest carnival in the world after Rio de Janeiro (see their 2016 programme)

The 2016 carnival season in La Gomera begins today in San Sebastian de La Gomera. Below is the programme of events in the island's capital and I will post information on the carnival in the remaining towns on La Gomera when available:

Carnival continues

While the carnival (see previous post) in La Gomera's capital is coming to an end, it is only starting in Valle Gran Rey tomorrow and yesterday it began in Vallehermoso. 

This photo of the main stage in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria I took on Saturday Feb. 7th 2015

Carnival time once again

Carnival time in the Canary Islands has begun and this is a huge event that doesn't exactly keep to the traditional carnival timetable. It goes on well after Ash Wednesday, even getting close to Easter some years, as each community stages their own and wants participants from neighbouring towns. The main events are in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria and in Santa Cruz on Tenerife, the latter being the second-largest carnival in the world after Rio de Janeiro. In Santa Cruz this year's theme is 'Carnival of the Future' (see their 2015 programme in English).

But wherever you'll be in the Canaries over the next few weeks watch out for local posters and announcements. The actual parades and main events couldn't be missed anyway - the sights and sounds are obvious.

Each community end their festivities with the 'funeral of the sardine' when a large papier-mache sardine full of pyrotechnics  is burnt and pushed into the sea, accompanied by the wailing of 'grieving ladies', i.e. men dressed in women's black clothes.

In San Sebastian de La Gomera this year's carnival theme is 'India' with events starting next week, while Valle Gran Rey and Alajero with Playa Santiago start later (see posters below).The remaining towns here will have their own carnival as well, t.b.a.later.

Carnival in the Canaries 2014

Santa Cruz 2014 poster

Soon it will be carnival time in the Canary Islands once again and the carnival in Tenerife's capital Santa Cruz is said to be second only to that of Rio. Gorgeous participants, stunning costumes, marching bands, samba schools, music and happy mayhem. Though tied to the Easter celebrations elsewhere there is nothing at all religious about this month-long party here. The dates don't necessarily coincide with carnivals in other parts of the world and different towns party on different dates over the coming month and well into March 2014.

The main events of the month-long carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife are as follows:

Wednesday Feb.26th,2014:  Election of the Carnaval Queen. This event is a huge evening gala.

Friday Feb. 28th:  Once it has it's Queen, Santa Cruz Carnaval takes to the streets on the Friday evening, with the Cabalgata Anunciadora, followed by a huge fireworks display and dancing to major bands after that.

Tuesday March 4th, 2014:   The Main Parade in Santa Cruz (the Avenida de Anaga and Marítima), from around 4pm ending in another fantastic fireworks display at around 9pm.

Wednesday March 5th:  ''Burial of the Sardine'' to ''end'' the carnival. Men dress up as "Widows" to mourn the poor old sardine and generally party the night away after another great fireworks show.

N.B.: 

Poster contest entry
for VGR's carnival

These are just a few main events and even after the carnival has ''ended'' there's more to come. All in all there are hundreds of events, dances, parades, concerts, as well as dozens of stages and venues, plus several more large fireworks displays. All together it is lasting from early February to March 9th 2014 after which everyone involved definitely will need a good rest.

Full programme in Spanish: www.carnavaltenerife.es


Here in Valle Gran Rey the whole affair is a lot smaller in scale and lasts 4 days from the 5th to the 8th of March 2014 with the main events staged in the harbour. The theme for this year's parade is 'Terror'. Help !

Carnival Photo Slideshow

Some impressions taken during and after yesterdays carnival parade in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera. Today the carnival here ends  with the 'funeral of the sardine', which is again followed by dancing to two major salsa bands until the early hours of the morning...

   

Carnival in Canary Islands

It's carnival time in the Canary Islands and this is a huge event that doesn't exactly keep to the traditional carnival timetable. It goes on well after Ash Wednesday, even getting close to Easter some years, as each community stages their own and wants participants from neighbouring towns. The main events are in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria and in Santa Cruz on Tenerife, the latter being the second-largest carnival in the world after Rio de Janeiro. In Santa Cruz this year some events have been cancelled because during the election gala for the carnival queen one of the contestants' elaborate costume caught fire and she was severely burnt.
But wherever you'll be in the Canaries over the next few weeks watch out for local posters and announcements. The actual parades and main events couldn't be missed anyway - the sights and sounds are obvious.
Each community end their festivities with the 'funeral of the sardine' when a large papier-mache sardine full of pyrotechnics  is burnt and pushed into the sea, accompanied by the wailing of 'grieving ladies', i.e. men dressed in women's black clothes.

Images from my archive of the carnival in...

...Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera in 2007