The challenge was complicated. celebrate a Carnival only six months after another, and, furthermore, doing it after the pandemic, now without restrictions. On Saturday, the Day Carnival managed to bring together more than 420,000 people throughout the day. With a figure like this, which joins the more than 300,000 who enjoyed the first weekend, the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, is clear: “We can now say that it has been the best carnival in the last 15 years.” The councilor congratulates the Fiestas staff for their effort, but also all the carnival-goers who have made it possible for “the one in Santa Cruz to be the safest Carnival in the world.” Bermúdez takes stock of a celebration on which, he admits, he has as a horizon of expansion the new spaces next to the Port Authority, in which he even advances, a fourth stage could be installed, although without leaving the ring as it is now . He confesses that he has enjoyed the Carnival as one more chicharrero, although always aware of the organization, going out for five days, with his group of friends and a costume with the militias of the Gesta of July 25 as inspiration.
-How did you live on Saturday?
“It was a fantastic day at the Carnival, one day and one night, from eleven in the morning until the end. I had already pointed out since two in the afternoon that it was going to be a crowded day because at that time many more people were already seen than at other times. And what I liked the most is that it was crowded everywhere, that is, on all stages, in very typical Carnival areas such as Plaza San Francisco, the Orche or the Águila area, but it was also crowded in places which normally aren’t, and I mean, for example, when Diablos Locos, Triquikonas, and Bambones performed on the Guimerá stairs, it was packed with people”.
-I don’t know if it was in the forecasts that it was like this or they were really surprised by the full…
“I have always said that this year there was a lot of desire for Carnival, because it was to have the usual party again, without restrictions, to this has been added that things have been going well, time has respected us in almost all the acts , and that has made people come from all sides. Surprising this year, expected, but always surprising, the number of people from abroad, people from Gran Canaria, other islands, the rest of Spain, tourists… This year I have seen more tourists than ever in our Carnival”.
-Two carnivals in six months…Can it be said that it has been a challenge achieved?
“I am very happy with the work carried out by the Fiestas team, which has worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to get to this Carnival. We had a challenge to make a Carnival so that everything would go well in much less time, and I think that the Fiestas team has lived up to the city. They are people who have been working in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night, analyzing documents, contracts, drawing up procedures, working from the office, but also from their homes, mobile phones… I can only thank them for that effort because they have managed that everything arrives on time”.
-In addition, with a very low level of incidents for the volume of people who have gathered…
“Yes, in fact on Saturday we had fewer incidents than on Monday. It can be said that the figures of the Day Carnival with respect to incidents are anecdotal, just over a hundred for more than 400,000 people from morning to night. I have to admit that, apart from the security operation, which has worked very well, what has really worked very well is the carnival spirit of the people, without that spirit it is impossible to have the safest carnival in the world. In the end, what people want is to have fun, and they know that getting into trouble in the end means less hours of fun. I am also very happy with the security operation because it has worked 100%”.
-Is it too early to say that this has been one of the best carnivals in recent years?
“We can already say it, it has been one of the best carnivals of the last 10, 12 or 15 years, and it is because possibly the galas and contests have turned out very well. It is true that the Parade is the only thing that is still more complicated, and, as a councilor once told me, not even a Chinese doctor can fix it, because it is an organized anarchy and it has always been like that, but the rest of the acts have been spectacular”.
-If you had to highlight one, which one would you choose?
“I would highlight the Gala, one of the best in history, which, normally, after two days people forget, but many people have stopped me on the street to congratulate me on the extraordinary gala that Enrique Camacho gave us, and the people of our Carnival, because I never tire of repeating it: more than 90% of the people who participated in that gala are non-professionals who did it as if they were”.
-You were talking about how crowded everything was, including the space gained in the new expansion area in front of the Port of Santa Cruz… Does the future of carnival in the street depend on continuing to get closer to the sea?
“The future of the Carnival lies in expanding towards the sea, not losing the ring as we know it today, but the Carnival must expand naturally towards an area that is not used by the Port, which is practically used very little, that it could put another stage and another carnival area, or kiosks, or when the Port-City link is finished, already with businesses and commercial areas, it could be used to reach the sea ”.
-Just this week, in the municipal plenary session, they discussed how to ensure that what is lived in these weeks lasts all year, with a Carnival Museum that replaces a Carnival House that is too small, among other initiatives. What do you think about that?
“The house of the Carnival was made during my tenure and it was an idea that we always said that it should be the seed of something greater. From the very beginning, it was said that it was possible to expand it with a second floor, in addition to the fact that something else could be created on the plot that borders it. I think the site is correct, it is not easy to find a place. And if we wanted to put all the queen costumes, that would be building a new fairgrounds because it doesn’t fit anywhere else. So we would have to build something because there is nothing that we have that we can rehabilitate and use to accommodate suits of those dimensions”.
-So, would it be feasible to build a museum?
“That possibility exists, but I bet on giving more expansion to the Casa del Carnaval, creating the Carnival Research Center, with endowment, linked to the ULL, where everything that has to do with the culture of Carnival, letters, the photos or curious things like the plans of the sound towers of the mythical Celia Cruz concert, which exist, and someone has saved them, can be seen… That kind of thing can be recovered. And then the carnival spirit can help us to generate among the youngest people, in schools, a spirit of healthy fun. Carnival has its values, and these can be applied the rest of the year”.
-And almost without time to breathe, more activities arrive like the Fiestas de Mayo…
“Santa Cruz is not going to stop. Before the Fiestas de Mayo we will have more activities in the street, more cultural programming, there will be two months of many performances, and yes, then the Fiestas de Mayo that last a month, with more music and fun, a party that is very dear to the citizenship”.
-Is the mayor going to rest for a few days?
“No. The agenda is full, there is no rest. I have enjoyed the Carnival very much, I have gone out for five days, several nights, and frankly I have enjoyed it and I have had a great time with my friends, always aware of the organization, but I have had a great time. Now it’s time to continue working, as always”.
