The Tenerife Fairgrounds hosts from this Saturday the Tricontinental Craft Fairan international display of traditional trades in which a tribute will be paid to the craft events linked to the carnival festivities of different countries.
The president of Council of Tenerife, Peter Martinassured during the inauguration that the island will be, for seven days, the epicenter of crafts from three continents, in which they will meet 160 craftsmen and women from thirty countries in Europe, America and Africawhich represents the largest international representation at the regional level.
Martín also highlighted the opportunity that this fair represents to continue opening new markets for the commercialization of one of the most traditional sectors of the islands and to recognize, specifically, the important role that it has as a support for carnivals, both in Tenerife like the rest of the world, the Cabildo has indicated in a statement.
The good work of the artisans
For his part, the mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, has valued the artisan industry linked to Carnival as “one of the most important in the capital, as is this festival whose color is, to a large extent, the result of the good work of the magnificent craftsmen”.
Bermúdez has invited visitors to the fair to stop by the 350-square-meter Santa Cruz stall, which exhibits a sample “of what the craft tradition means for this festival, which during the rest of the year they can enjoy at the Carnival House.
The island councilor Carmen Luz Baso has pointed out that this is the first edition of this fair to be held after the pandemic, “in which we can resume meeting spaces between cultures from different parts of the world and in which our artisans and artisans They also have a lot to teach and say.
He added that, in addition to the Carnival of Tenerife, there will be a special space dedicated to three carnivals included by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, such as the Blacks and Whites of Pasto and Barranquilla, both in Colombia; that of Oruro, in Bolivia and that of Callao, in Venezuela.
Space dedicated to Venice
The opening ceremony, which was also attended by the Cabildo’s CEO of Foreign Action, Liskel Álvarez, and the island’s director of Socioeconomic Development, Ermitas Moreira, included the celebration of the show “Carnival Harmonies”, directed by Juan Carlos Armas and in which, through videos and musical performances, reviewed the main carnivals of the world and the Canary Islands.
The carnivals of El Carnero in El Hierro, Los Indianos in La Palma and those of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria also joined the festivities in Venice, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay.
In the 160 exhibitors that are included in this fair you can find craft products from 14 countries in America, seven from Africa and six from Europe.
During the seven days of the fair, cultural and musical activities, parades, workshops and craft and fashion catwalks will be held, and every day from 7:00 p.m. there will be performances on stage, as well as parades.
