On Canteras Seashore in Las Palmas, capital of Gran Canaria, a weird funeral is happening. Girls wearing widow’s weeds are wailing in Oscar-worthy shows of grief. They’re crying in regards to the loss of life of a sardine.
And that is not the one unusual factor about this procession, with trumpeters enjoying the Eighties rock basic The Closing Countdown as a jazzy funeral dirge.
This occasion marks the tip of 4 weeks of festivities in LasPalmas, when, as in lots of elements of Spain and South America, an effigy of the fish is burnt to signify the tip of Carnival and the start of Lent.
Colors and shapes: The island of Gran Canaria is a less-known choice for Carnival
The capital comes alive: Las Palmas is a metropolis of generally unappreciated fashion and tradition
Woof: Even the canine dress for carnival
In Britain now we have Pancake Day to make use of up the fats that’s banned throughout the Lenten quick, however within the Hispanic world, they go in for Bacchanalian merry-making.
The theme for this 12 months is Everlasting Spring, celebrating town’s benign local weather, the place the temperature hardly ever falls under 20c.
The custom of carnival within the Canaries will be traced again to 1556 when Venetian retailers introduced masked events to the island. Everybody is inspired to decorate up, even these solely watching the quite a few floats parading via town.
This 12 months they’re channelling Flower Energy, encouraging folks to don bellbottoms, John Lennon glasses, kaftans and do the hippy, hippy shake.
Carnival is from this Friday till March 5, however the highlights are concentrated within the final two weekends. Most occasions are free, however the gala to seek out the Carnival Queen is the recent ticket, with extravagant costumes reflecting the island’s robust connections to South America and the Caribbean.
Be a part of the gang: Costumed revellers course of via the streets of Las Palmas each February
The Queen of the Carnival’s nemesis is the equally common Drag Queen Gala, the place the island’s menfolk strut their stuff in outrageous, barely there outfits.
All of it ends on March 5 with the burying of the sardine and a fireworks show. The social gathering’s over … or is it?
These crafty Canarians stagger the carnivals within the different cities in order that as Las Palmas’s pageant closes, the enjoyable begins within the south of the island in Maspalomas. So you may take a deep breath and go for it another time.
