86 ~ Carnival in Canaries

A member of the female murga Las Hechizadas (The Bewitched)

It's that time again when the world celebrates carnival, or carnaval as it is written in Spanish. And next to Rio de Janiero, the Canary Islands has some of the world's most extravagant carnival celebrations.

This year the activities run from January 26 with the selection of candidates for carnival queen until February 21, ending with the traditional antique car show and final fireworks display.

Carnival photos here and above credited to the official Tenerife Carnival website.

Murga Los Bambones

The murgas are popular satirical groups which create and sing irreverent protest songs about current local issues and political personages, to the accompaniment of noisy percussion instruments. Competitions pit different murga groups against each other for the best costumes and the sharpest wit in their performances.

Los Bambas, a childrens' murga

As well as a carnival queen chosen from a selection of young women, there is also a Reina Tercera Edad, a senior queen chosen from older women.

Reina Tercera Edad (Senior Queen)

Everyone joins in the spirit of carnival here, no matter what age. There is also a children's queen, La Reina Infantil.

La Reina Infantil (Childrens'Queen)

Each of the seven Canary Islands celebrates its own carnival and there are many shows, parades and queen elections even in smaller towns. But the biggest shows are always that of the elections of Carnival Queen on Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the two largest islands, in the cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria respectively.

Tenerife will elect her queen tomorrow evening in a grand televised gala.

Las Palmas already has a carnival queen, elected a few days ago. Here she is, in a spectacular costume of an indian princess in white feathered and bejewelled headdress, stepping out of an enormous Native American dream catcher.

Photo credit to Las Palmas Carnival website

Here's the sound of Carnaval en Tenerife!

I will come back with more photos from Carnaval en Tenerife.
Until then, ...¡Hasta la vista!