In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Councillor for Festivities, Javier Caraballero, has decided to conclude the transitional phase marked by the appointment of choreographer Jep Meléndez. Since two years ago, Meléndez was in charge of the Carnival’s opening and queen selection. Caraballero now brings his core team to lead the events with a mission to modernise a format dating back to the mid-1980s under José Tamayo. Another challenge he faces is fostering connections between the artistic directors and competition participants, addressing a shortcoming from the past two years according to Caraballero himself.
On Monday, 2nd June, Santa Cruz’s Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez and Caraballero of the Entity for Public Festivities agreed on a strategic shift, trusting entirely in-house talent. Besides Meléndez, the scenographic chapter under Nareme Melián also concludes.
The new structure puts Daniel Pages (Los Llanos de Aridane, 1981), a renowned designer of Carnival queens, as the director for the 2026 Carnival’s inaugural event, dedicated to Latin rhythms. Scheduled for Friday, 16th January, the artist, who previously won queen titles in 2014 and 2016, will also be the artistic lead for the queen’s gala on Wednesday, 11th February 2026. Pages’ recent roles in handling the children’s and seniors’ events seemed to foreshadow his eminent leap to the main stage—a personal endorsement by the Festivities Councillor, beyond Pages’ dreams of queenly triumph.
The appointments of Paula Álvarez (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1995) and Yeray Piñero (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1989) as directors for junior and senior galas surprise with the Councillor’s generosity. Caraballero has chosen to give them career opportunities, rather than keeping them merely as devoted aides, thus rewarding him with peace of mind due to their competence, camaraderie, and dedication. They now transition from supervisory roles to being key players.
A new scenographer is yet to be appointed to replace Nareme Melián, while Yaiza Suárez’s (daughter of the esteemed Geni Afonso) tenure overseeing competitions also concludes. The primary concern lingered over the lack of national and international exposure, especially since the 1980s era. Under José Tamayo, Santa Cruz embraced elite directors who transformed the Carnival galas into cinematic spectacles, such as Jaime Azpilicueta, famed for editions themed around Egypt or Fairy Tales.
Despite this, Caraballero affirms that “the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival is crafted with heart, knowledge, and dedication”, which the new artistic leads exemplify. He further asserts that an overhaul of Tamayo’s legacy formats is required, seeking innovative minds to modernise galas and competitions. “Our Carnival is already internationally recognised; it requires no external validation. We should celebrate and nurture the people who embody the festival, for they create unforgettable nights,” insists Caraballero.
Addressing the groups, he assures, “No decisions will be made without consulting competition participants,” referring to potential changes such as extending the murgas contest to four phases or rethinking the musical group formats.
A Youthful Artistic Team
This new artistic leadership, averaging thirty-something in age, is notably young. The veteran, Daniel Pages, celebrates his 44th birthday today, while Paula Álvarez, turning 30 on Wednesday, 11th June, becomes the youngest artistic director in Carnival history, and only the third woman after Ana María Gil in 1979, and Geni Afonso in the 1990s, to hold such a position.
Pages is now the second queen designer to rise to directorship, following success in the junior and senior galas, now advancing to the adult and inaugural events. The first to chart this course was Juan Carlos Armas, from 2012 to 2015; previously, Justo Gutiérrez only created scenography for the 1997 and 1998 editions.
Curiously, Enrique Camacho took charge of the 2016 adult gala after triumphing with the 2015 children’s queen selection, mirroring Pages’ trajectory from the 2024 and 2025 junior spectacles to the 2026 adult stage.
Experience Paired with Youth
Javier Caraballero (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1988) had to reconstruct plans for artistic succession, which derailed when he was invited to enter politics in the 2023 municipal elections. Prior to his political role, Caraballero, who joined the Festivities team in 2017 under Gladis de León, had been a chief set designer at Auditorio de Tenerife since 2014, encountering Yeray Piñero during his internship, who later became a producer and company manager in the 2016 ‘Evita’ musical tour, also partaking in the 2015 ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ revival.
Caraballero, who has collaborated with Daniel Pages in the 2011 queen presentations, shares a background in design. By 2012, Pages, aligned with Eduardo Martín Quintero, clinched the sovereign title.
Between 2017 and 2019, prior to his councillor role, Caraballero worked on scenography for editions themed around the Caribbean, Fantasy, and Ocean Depths, later assisting Enrique Camacho. Paula Álvarez began her journey with the Autonomous Festivities Body in 2017, earning Caraballero’s trust through her involvement in Christmas shows, Three Kings’ events, and May Festivities, culminating in her artistic leadership today.
With these foundations, Caraballero argued for the artistic team renewal to the Mayor, dismissing a return to Enrique Camacho while initiating a generational shift under the guiding principle of “active listening and collaboration” with the Carnival community.
