The young Laura Rodríguez Puertas, dressed in the traditional gangochera costume of Puerto de la Cruz and representing the Salsa Canaria Cultural Association, was elected Queen of the May 2022 Festivities last night, during a gala that was held on stage located in the Plaza de la Candelaria and in which 35 applicants participated, the largest edition in the history of the founding festivities of the city. Laura Rodríguez relieved Andrea Fernández in her reign, who, for three years, has held the title of Queen of the May Festivities due to the suspension of the celebrations due to the pandemic.
The new Queen will be accompanied in her reign by four bridesmaids. Thus, the title of fourth lady went to Lizett Ramos Pérez, who participated on behalf of the Association of Designers and Artisans of the Carnival, wearing the Los Llanos de Aridane cloak and skirt suit. The third maid of honor is Claudia Gil Rodríguez, who participated on behalf of the La Era y El Trigo Neighborhood Association and wore the daily outfit of the woman from Lanzarote. The second maid of honor went to Raisa González Melián, who, on behalf of the Tamaragua Cultural Center, wore the Lanzarote woman’s newspaper outfit. The first lady went to Carla Rodríguez Hernández, who represented the Mamel’s Festive Musician Cultural Association, with the woman from La Palma in Sunday dress.
The gala, organized by the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, through the Autonomous Organization for Festivities and Recreational Activities (Oafar), was directed by Javier Caraballero and began at 9:00 p.m., with Elvis Sanfiel hosting a show that brought together an artistic cast that represents the best voices of the Canary Archipelago.
The overture managed to excite with dancers who interpreted folías, the dance of the saint of El Hierro, the sorondongo of Fuerteventura or the shadows of the cloud of Gran Canaria, to end with the entrance of the 35 candidates on stage to the sound of a Canarian isa.
After leaving the aspiring Queen the stage, it was the turn of Soul Sanet, who performed the song that for many is an anthem, By my name call me, achieving the complicity of the public, a performance that ended with a stage full of streamers with the colors of the canarian flag
But, without a doubt, one of the most emotional moments of the night was the tribute paid to the late Ubaldo Hernández, defender of traditional clothing, who was the winner of 18 Queen of the May Festival titles and who passed away in 2020. Hernández, they also wanted to pay tribute to María Mérida, who also died this year and was performed by Claudia Álamo, interpreting the mythical Alegre Santa Cruz, which gave way to the final performance of the artists who enlivened the wait to meet the winner. .
The candidates came out in two blocks, the first had 17 applicants, who paraded dressed in the typical costumes representative of different parts of the Islands.
Before the second block made an appearance, the singer Besay Pérez delighted the audience with a small recital, which delighted an audience enraptured by the artist’s voice.
With the parade of the remaining 18 candidates, it was the turn of Ciro Corujo, Patricia Muñoz, Aarón Morales and Luis Morera.
The 30 aspiring queen paraded dressed in typical Canarian dress before a jury made up of María del Carmen Almenara Ramos, fashion specialist and artisan in traditional Canarian clothing; María Esperanza González González, member of the Sectorial Council of traditional costumes; Natanael Padrón Navarro, cultural manager of the Insular Craft Company; Manuel Ángel Hernández Rodríguez, artisan in traditional costumes and fashion specialist technician, and Carmen Eugenia Afonso Perdomo, artistic director and choreographer of Galas de las Fiestas de Mayo.
The mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez, handed over the scepter and the sash to the new Queen, while the Councilor for Fiestas, Alfonso Cabello, awarded the awards to the court of honor.
