Last night, the mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, in collaboration with the Festival Councillor, Javier Caraballero, and the Nigerian artist REWA, who designed the artwork, unveiled the poster heralding the 2025 Carnival, themed ‘Secrets of Africa.’ This announcement took place during an event where the song “Soy carnavaler@”, composed by Moisés García, was played for the first time. The local councillor shared that this song has been selected as the Carnival 2025 anthem, kicking off the first celebration of this year’s Mask Festival, which attracted a large audience until midnight.
Bermúdez underscored that “our Carnival is a vibrant entity that not only aims to enhance in quality and expand each year but also seeks to innovate in order to bring the festivities closer to the streets whenever possible.” He added that “the best illustration of this is the event we are celebrating for the second consecutive year, which we can now proudly label as an addition to the carnival calendar, despite it being October.” Following the success of the previous year, “we are committed to this inaugural event to unveil the promotional poster, and we do so in Plaza de España, nearly the same location where Celia Cruz performed 37 years ago, setting a Guinness World Record.”
The mayor also conveyed his appreciation that “the creator of the poster, REWA, made the journey from Nigeria to join us for this occasion,” declaring that “for Santa Cruz, it is a privilege to have this distinguished and celebrated international artist with us, who moreover is the first African woman to design the poster for this event.” He remarked, “Her creation, which reflects Nigerian culture, adds to the legacy of remarkable figures who have impacted this celebration, making her the seventh woman to produce the Santa Cruz Carnival poster in over 60 years, which is another cause for pride.”
REWA expressed her excitement, stating, “It is a great honour for me to attend and engage in such a significant celebration as the Santa Cruz Carnival.” The poster features a female spirit dancer, an African masquerade referred to as Agbogho Mmuo in the Igbo language. According to the artist, “this represents the essence of the Santa Cruz Carnival, providing an inclusive meaning, as traditionally, it is a man who wears the costume, despite it embodying a female figure.” In this way, REWA leaves her mark on the Carnival’s history after being commissioned by the mayor.
The unveiling of the Carnival 2025 poster transitioned into the inaugural carnival festival at Plaza de España, where attendees danced for over three hours to the music of St. Pedro, the Rambuesa Orchestra, DJ Fabrizzio Salgado, and Arodi Llanos, the singer of the official Carnival 2025 song, “Soy carnavaler@”, which was also introduced last night. This piece, crafted by composer Moisés García, is now accessible on all digital platforms.
Caraballero expressed his delight with the poster, asserting that REWA’s work not only embodies the Carnival’s essence but also accurately reflects African culture through a design that is now part of the festival’s history. The original artwork will be on display starting today, at 10:30 a.m., at the Casa del Carnaval.
