My World - The Flower Carpets

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Las Alfombras de La Orotava

One of the flower petal carpets being made in the streets of La Orotava for the celebrations of Corpus Christi, June 2007. They are made from fresh flower petals, chopped green heather and a little of natural volcanic sands, used to edge the borders. This is an annual event where the procession from the church in the evening of the same day walks upon the carpets on the way to the ceremony in the town plaza. Thus the carpets last for only one day.

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This year the carpets will be made on June 18, so I hope to be able to visit and take more photos. Here are some from a previous year as they are being made early in the morning.






La Orotava is a beautiful town full of historic monuments and gardens, situated on the northwest coast of the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain.

My World Tuesday 2

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An artist drizzles onto the ground the natural coloured volcanic sands from the Tenerife volcano Teide to create a sand painting such as are made every year during the celebrations of Corpus Christi in the villa of La Orotava.
In 2006, five Tibetan monks came to add a small portion of the sand carpet with their mandala, which was created on a wooden platform at one corner of the main carpet. Here is a photo taken by Jose Mesa when he went to visit the Orotava site where the monks were making their mandala in 2006.

Photo by Jose Mesa

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