The historical collective par excellence of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerifethe rondallas, will be in charge of open with honors the 2022 edition this afternoon, at 5:00 p.m., at the Guimerá Theater, and it will do so under the watchful eye of an audience that is considerably reduced compared to other editions, due to the change of location of the contest, which was usually held in the Audience.
This new location, justified by the change of the Carnival from February to June, does not quite convince the rondalleros for future editions, although they understand the decision made and are happy to get on the boards of this emblematic site of the city. This is how Valkirias states it, which, in the words of its representative, affirms that “the Auditorium made the leap in quality in terms of sound, comfort and infrastructure”, as well as La Rondalla Mamel’s, which hopes that “it will be an option punctual given the change of dates”.
Valkirias, Peña del Lunes, UA El Cabo, Masa Coral Tinerfeña and La Rondalla Mamel’s will go up, in that order, to the Guimerá stage to continue contributing the most cultural and lyrical part to the carnival. In the 2022 edition, given the little preparation time that has been available due to COVID-19, the groups will perform two songs instead of the three that they traditionally performed, something that some rondallas see as a litmus test for a possible dynamization of the contest, but that others rule out, as is the case of the Masa Coral Tenerife, which, in the words of its president, declares that “the normal thing is to have a repertoire with which you can work and with which you can show off” .
since 1925
For almost all of the lyrical groups, despite the fact that they are open to changes in the competition for future editions, the decisions made due to this atypical situation should not be permanent, since they detract from the shine of this unique genre in the world that has been carried out since 1925 without interruption and that has managed to keep the Carnival going in times of war and dictatorship. What the groups participating in the 2022 edition do agree on is that the rondallas do not have the appropriate promotion and visibility to arouse greater interest, something that some attribute to the little publicity that is made by the groups themselves and that others believe that it is due to the institutions, which the representative of La Peña del Lunes reaffirms: “They should take care of us during the year in the festivities of Santa Cruz or of any municipality, make us participate so that people can check and see what we are the roundabouts”.
The groups are eager and excited to open this edition with a contest in which the public will be able to enjoy mainly zarzuela and opera music, accompanied by pulse and plectrum instruments, a show that can be carried out thanks to the work and effort that These groups and their components, mostly amateurs, perform throughout the year to bring the lyrical genre to the people of Santa Cruz de Tenerife each carnival.
A full Guimerá hosts the contest, which will be seen by local chains
A packed Guimerá Theater, which yesterday almost had all the seats sold, will today host the traditional contest, whose host will be the journalist Zenaido Hernández. In addition, the event will be broadcast live on local television channels Channel 4, Mírame TV and Now TV, which will obtain the signal from Canarian Television, which, in turn, will broadcast the contest on a deferred basis around 00:40.
The jury for the presentation awards is made up of Cristo Rodríguez, fashion and leather manufacturing technician; Pilar Blanco, plastic artist, professor of Fine Arts and member of the Association of Ceramists of Tenerife, and Ana del Mar Rodríguez, seamstress and teacher of pattern making and sewing at the Las Indias Comprehensive Vocational Training Center. Those who will judge the quality of the works and their execution will be Jonay Mesa, guitar specialist, composer and producer; Lucía Ruiz, professor of singing at the Superior Conservatory of Music of Córdoba, and Enrique García Requena, senior professor of singing at the Madrid Conservatory, choir director, musical director of Classics of Lyric at DAO Producciones.
