The sparkle is already evident in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The previous night, the festivity filled the heart of the Tenerife capital as the Announcement Parade made its way through. More than 80,000 individuals, comprising participants and the audience, adorned the main streets of the city centre with radiance, creativity and vibrancy.
The inaugural parade of the chicharrera festival set off down Belgium Avenue slightly later than the planned time of 7:30 p.m. It traversed Plaza República Dominicana, Avenida de la Asunción, Calle Ramón y Cajal, Galcerán, Plaza Weyler, Méndez Núñez (Parque García Sanabria), Calle del Pilar, Villalba Hervás, Calle La Marina and Avenida Marítima, culminating there to give way to the first evening of revelry and amusement.
For the first time, the juvenile groups of the Chicharrero Carnival had the responsibility of commencing the Parade, with the Tropicana Infantil troupe leading the procession. Following them, the murguitas staged their customary parade to the applause of the gathered public, which grew louder as the first float, carrying the Children’s Queen Sonia Rodríguez, passed by. She waved from within her My Favorite Mouse fantasy costume designed by Alexis Santana. Subsequent to the youngest sovereign, her maids of honour followed, adorned in their splendid attire and moving to the beat of the participating groups, from the winners of the costume contest to the intermittent mascaritas who always manage to slip between the now customary gaps left by the procession’s passage. The NiFú-NiFá commenced the parade of the adult groups and, after the veteran aphilharmonic, the street once more pulsated to the rhythm of the Bahía Bahitiare troupe. This marked the arrival of the Carnival Queen’s float, with Corina Mrazek donning the El Mundo fantasy, designed by Santi Castro. Los Diablos Locos escorted the festival’s sovereign, making way for the musical group Cantares Luz de Luna, which preceded the remaining floats transporting the Queen’s retinue. The maids of honour paraded to the rhythm of the Joroperos troupe, who also brought a surprise by including the presenter and star Marlène Mourreau in their ensemble. She is present in the capital after attending the Queen’s Election Gala as a juror, held last Wednesday at the Fairgrounds. Los Bambones and their popular parade paved the way for the vibrancy of Caña Dulce and following that, the Tropicana troupe. An amalgamation of rhythms and award-winning groups in this Carnival enlivened the route to the batucadas’ beat. The onlookers’ confetti, many of whom had secured prime spots with their chairs at the sidewalks since eight in the morning the day before, rained down on the streets as the Chaxiraxi group passed by, a riot of colour adorned with the Carnival’s iconic characters such as La Lecherita, Fidel Castro, Cantinflas or Michael Jackson. Behind them, the Cariocas, the Marchilongas and Rumberos, who, along with several other groups, heralded the arrival of the Elderly Queen Isabel García, dressed in the March 33 design by Dani Mena, with her retinue parading to the serenade of the Rondallas. The mayor of the capital, José Manuel Bermúdez, expressed his delight at the Carnival being in full swing. “Thousands of people and more than 50 groups have partaken in this grand parade, alongside adorned floats and cars. It’s a festival where the carnival spirit reigns supreme, and in this, we are matchless,” he remarked.
