He La Laguna City Councilthrough the Department of Culture and the Autonomous Body for Musical Activities (OAAM)has designed an extensive program of events to celebrate a new edition of the Cultural Carnival, an initiative that is now five years old and that originated to recover the rich lagoon tradition linked to these festivities.
This action, which last year it brought together 12,000 people, “has the objective of disseminating the historical importance of this celebration in the municipality and recovering Lagunera customs and traditions,” said the mayor of the municipality, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez. “We seek to make visible the work of the Carnival groups, artists and artisans, who are the true protagonists and make this celebration a benchmark in Tenerife and the Canary Islands,” he added.
For her part, the Lagunera Councilor for Culture, Leticia Villegas, explained that the first event will take place on Friday, February 23, at 10:00 a.m., with the Inclusive Carnival that will be held in the Plaza del Cristo. The great parade organized by the Department of Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Culture area, wants to involve people with some type of disability in the party. The route will go from Plaza del Adelantado to Plaza del Cristo through Viana Street, and will feature musical performances, dances, energizing activities, workshops and other experiences.
“At 8:00 p.m., the meeting of the Los Bambones murga, in Cardonal, will close the day. With more than 40 years of experience, it has already become one of the most successful carnival groups in the history of this festival and has a large number of awards in its 31 participations in official competitions,” the councilor explained.
The morning of the following Saturday, February 24, will be enlivened from 10:00 a.m. by the different family workshops that will be held in the Plaza del Cristo. Next, at 11:00 a.m., various Carnival groups will tour the historic center with a parade that will begin in La Concepción and end in Cristo, where the program of events will continue.
That same afternoon, at 6:00 p.m., it will be the turn of the Rondallas Parade. With their music, they will liven up the streets of La Laguna between the Orfeón de La Paz and the Teatro Leal, where they will take the stage to offer several performances to the audience.
On February 24, between 8:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., the municipality will revive the traditional Great Mask Ball that was previously held at the Leal Theater. There you can enjoy an evening in the purest style of yesteryear, this time, in the Plaza del Cristo.
Finally, the program of events will culminate on Sunday, February 25, when people walking through the streets of the historic center will be surprised by various theatrical performances.
To keep alive the dissemination of the Canary Islands Carnival tradition, from February 9 to March 16, the old convent of Santo Domingo will host an exhibition by the documentary photographer Juan Agustín Pérez Pérez, ‘Tingo’. The exhibition, which is free, can be visited from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
