Culture Tenerife
The Carnival celebrations on Tenerife are said to be the best outside Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and New Orleans. This celebration gives the islanders another chance to let their hair down. Without religious meaning, and mainly a social event, this occasion allows locals to enjoy the parades, stalls and folk dancing.
The spirit to celebrate is well embraced at fiesta (festival) time. Fiestas are usually associated with the celebration of saints’ days and religious dates. Don’t miss the fiesta of Corpus Christi, when islanders spend endless hours building dream carpets made of sand and flowers. Some of the most amazing decorations can be seen in the floral carpets at La Orotava and La Laguna. Fiestas can also appear as pilgrimages or agricultural parades, jointly with satirical songs known as ‘murgas’.
The annual Mardi Gras Carnival at Santa Cruz is the second largest in the world. Almost impossible for countries with poorer weather, this spectacular event that involves all the people of Tenerife, happens in February – not to be missed if you like to have fun.
Each city has its own patron saint, what seems to add some truth to the Canarian joke of a fiesta happening somewhere in the islands every day.
However, as the lifestyle is very outdoor and warm weather orientated, you can still find a high cultural presence in the way of Museums, Arts Galleries etc.
