Summer Carnival in Puerto de la Cruz: a gala that breaks stereotypes

The gala was held at the Costa Martiánez Tourist Complex. Fran Pallero

There were more than two hours of show that were exchanged with the parade of the 15 candidates who opted for the title of the King of Carnival, the “highlight” of the Summer Carnivals that have been held in Puerto de la Cruz since 2016.

The gala, directed by Enrique Camacho, was held in an idyllic setting: the Costa Martiánez Tourist Complex and broke stereotypes, starting with five women who took the stage, joined by the Abubukaka group who performed a sketch dedicated to the murgas in which a small representation of murgueros also took part.

Two well-known faces from the world of television, such as Yanelys Hernández and Elvis Sanfiel, were in charge of the presentation and in announcing the first performance.

The young Mel Ömana, an emerging artist from Gran Canaria, was responsible for opening the event with the song Suelta la Correa, composed especially for the occasion and accompanied by all the Carnival groups.
She was followed by the duo Knarias, who performed a carnival cover of Mueve tu cucú, and Pastora Soler who also merged for the act with Te awakening, whose video clip she shot in Tenerife and Vive, one of the most optimistic songs in her repertoire. , while the fifteen aspiring to King displayed their fantasies before the public.

One of the most anticipated performances was that of Marta Sánchez, who closed the gala and presented herself to the public with a new arrangement of the song Soy yo.

Before the jury’s verdict and crowning the new King of the Summer Carnival, Sánchez, a 90s pop icon, was responsible for discovering the winning poster for the 2022 Carnival, which will be dedicated to the 90s “and he did it within of an icon such as Lago Martiánez itself, with which the gala is much more than what could be superficially seen ”.

This was highlighted yesterday by the councilor for Fiestas in Porto, Alberto Castilla, who appeared in the morning with the artist; other cast members; the director of the gala; the mayor, Marco González; and the director of the Botánico Hotel, Gustavo Escobar, an establishment where the meeting with the media took place to give details of the event.

In this context, Marta Sánchez expressed her gratitude and the enormous pleasure she feels to be in Tenerife, an island that she visits very often, “to give her best at a gala that, she predicted, will surely leave no one indifferent.”

The artist recalled that she has been collaborating with the Canary Islands Carnival for many years “and that they have remembered me is always a joy, as it is that everything is getting up and back to normal although the conditions do not allow as much public as the artists we always like to watch ”, he confessed. And despite the fact that “a large audience is synonymous with success and big applause”, she said that in her case she had always supported “the petit committee”, with which “she was psychologically happy and prepared for this reduction in capacity – the allowed public With the Covid standards it was 580 people- although “that mischief of seeing people move and smile will be lacking.”

The gala was presented as a great alternative to promote the city that must continue to be promoted and, according to the mayor, gave Puerto de la Cruz “the greatest visibility it can have” as a tourist destination but also “as the epicenter of the city. culture in the Canary Islands ”.