More than 3,000 people will participate in the Santa Cruz Carnival Queen Election Gala, which will take place today, starting at 9:30 p.m., at the Tenerife Fairgrounds. The show, directed by Enrique Camacho, will last just over two and a half hours, and will include an overture in which 1,500 people will participate. These are some of the few data that have emerged from the Gala, which was presented yesterday by the mayor, Jose Manuel Bermudeztogether with the artists who will perform and who will cover, together with the Carnival groups, the 15 candidates who aspire to win the carnival scepter.
As Bermúdez recalled, “so far some 70,000 people have passed through the Fairgrounds during the galas and contests, and tomorrow, there will be 3,000 people who will be behind the scenes, and 4,500 more who will attend as audience”. The mayor wanted to highlight the “energy” that comes from a show like tonight’s. “All those who have passed through that stage, that night, have been able to feel that special energy,” said the municipal councilor, who revealed that the last one to feel that energy was Chanel. “When she finished her performance and left the stage, she burst into tears because of the beauty of the moment,” she said.
Together with the mayor, the Councilor for Fiestas, Alfonso Cabello, and the artists who are going to participate in the Gala today: Carlos Rivera, Nia and the K-Narias.
The mayor of Fiestas recalled the first visit of the Mexican singer to the Chicharrero Carnival during the virtual celebration. “It was the Carnival of the PCR, in a Gala in which silence reigned, since there was no public.” “Now -he continued- the moment is different, it is that of social rapprochement, that of a normal Carnival, in which we face the challenge of those 3,000 people on the carnival stage, of which 95% are not professionals, with everything the merit that this entails”.
The director of the Gala, Enrique Camacho, wanted to value the role of these Carnival groups, asking that the criticism, if any, fall on him or on the organization, but not on the groups. “They are the ones who make the Carnival,” he said with a headdress in his hand as a tribute. “These people do it with their hearts, they rehearse all week after work and I am sure that they will surprise us all with the performance, to which they put care, love and a lot of dedication”, he stressed.
Carlos Rivera admitted that returning to the Santa Cruz Carnival “is removing a little thorn from me”, since, with his first participation, in 2020, he could not enjoy the heat of the public at the Gala. “It was something atypical, but also exciting,” acknowledged the singer. “I am happy for this return, with the first invitation I was able to return to Spain after a long time, and now I will return in July with my new tour.” He advanced that Mi locura, the song that he adapted for his intervention in 2020, will play again tomorrow at the Gala, among others.
Canarian artists
For her part, the Canarian singer Nia appreciated the opportunity to participate in the Gala, where, she confessed, “I’ve been wanting to perform for a long time.” “This is not one more performance for me, it is the most important, because it is at home,” she said. After the press conference, Nia herself confessed that she was “happy” to be on stage and she defined that it is “real madness”.
He assured that when the director explained it to him, he was not able to visualize what he has seen these days in rehearsals. “It is very difficult to do what is going to be done at the Gala. So, yes, I’m very happy to be home, and also very nervous because I’m home, and we have to set the Canarian bar high”. He indicated that the Carnival stage imposes much more on him than a television set, a performance in which he will interpret some of his repertoire, but also something together with the rest of the artists.
Gara, half of K-Narias, for his part, pointed out that “it is a pleasure to be in our land” and advanced that Don’t dress, you won’t go will be one of the songs that will sound at the express request of Enrique Camacho, of whom He revealed that he was his councilor on the first tour they did through the Canary Islands. Loira highlighted the desire to act, but, above all, because “after the Gala, Carnival arrives in the street, which is what we like the most.”
The Gala will last approximately two hours and thirty-five minutes, in which the 15 candidates will be the main stars of the show. In it, the Carnival groups will prevail and the murgas will have a special role. Televisión Española in the Canary Islands and Radio Televisión Canaria will be in charge of retransmitting it.
