Have you chosen your costume? The 2020 Tenerife Carnival is just around the corner and, as always, is going to be full of great moments. If you’re in a hurry or don’t know the dates, don’t worry. Here are the key events and our recommendations for your calendar…
The start of the street carnival
Although carnival lasts for almost the whole of February, the street carnival kicks-off with the Queen’s Election Gala. It is on Wednesday, February 19 and is when the 2020 Carnival Queen gets chosen. 2019’s Queen, Priscila Medina Quintero, remembers it as “an unforgettable night, something I will always remember and if I could, I would repeat again”.
Hardly surprising, as the Carnival Queen leads the Announcement Parade, the first major street event which, this year, is on Friday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m. Decorated floats and cars parade along the streets, watched by crowds waiting to see the new Queen and her Bridesmaids.
The next day, on February 22, carnival returns to the street for the Comparsas Rhythm and Harmony contest. The troupe’s batucada drumming and colourful costumes fill Francisco la Roche Avenue with noise and fun. Last year’s winners, “Los Joroperos” along with director Fernando Hernández, received the prize thanks to their “work of many years, sacrifices and discipline, but also, great enthusiasm”.
The first carnival weekend closes with the Day Carnival which begins at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 23. It is a good opportunity for families and other people who want to celebrate during the day, and lasts well into the afternoon.
The great week of Carnival
The main carnival week starts on Monday, February 24 with an intense street party where everyone dresses up, dances and enjoys themselves late into the night.
The next day, Tuesday, February 26, the Coso Apoteosis of the Carnival is the high point of the festivities with a huge parade where everyone participates: Murgas, Queens, Comparsas, carnival troupes … All come together at one of the most anticipated and attended events of the whole carnival. It starts at 4:00 p.m. on Francisco La Roche and Maritima Avenues.
The end of the Carnival
El Burial of the Sardine on Wednesday, February 26 is one of the most comical moments, with widows and mourners attending the symbolic burial of “Don Carnal”. It is the final event of the official carnival holiday season.
However, the icing on the cake is that the street party isn’t quite over yet. There’s a Day Carnival on Saturday, February 29 and a final hurrah on Sunday March 1st with the Grand Carnival Party End 2020.
Have you got the important dates in the diary? Then put on your costume and come and join in at the year’s biggest party.