Carnival in the Canary Islands

The Spanish Carnival is one of the things you must have experienced at least once in your life! For 2 weeks the streets of the Canary Islands are full of festivities with all the revelers creating a very special, but above all a lively and great atmosphere

Celebrate Spanish carnival in Tenerife in the Canary Islands! This carnival is the second largest in the world, second only to the carnival in Río de Janeiro! Characteristic of this celebration is the spectacular clothing. Women wear costumes made of plastic, metal, paper but mostly the most beautiful feathers! These costumes are sometimes so heavy that the women cannot walk in them. Then they are "just" driven onto the stage!

A queen is always elected. The election is televised throughout Spain. This always happens on Wednesday. The following Friday is the opening parade, or Apoteósis or Cabalgata, in which the queen leads the way with her bridesmaids and is accompanied by the comparsas, carnival groups that dance through streets to the infectious rhythms of samba and rumba! The comparsas mingle with the dancing and partying crowd during the Verbena, the street carnival, until early in the morning.

If you walk through the streets for the rest of the week you will find many parades, bars and stages installed in the streets and dancing all day long! On Monday there is a big electronic music festival "The Santa Cruz Dance Festival" with the most popular DJs! During the week there is a lot of dancing, parades and of course the burial of the Sardine. It is believed that this helps the fishermen get a good catch for the next year. During the weekend it is really over... But of course it ends with beautiful fireworks and one last party!

Tenerife is of course the place to be during Carnival in the Canary Islands, but Gran Canaria is no slouch either! Here, most towns and villages celebrate their own carnival, but the biggest party does take place in the main city of Las Palmas. Here you will also find the floats, carnival queen elections, street performers, fireworks and of course non-stop partying!

Carnival in Gran Canaria is an unforgettable experience, you'd think you were in Brazil! Book your vacation to the Canary Islands or Spanish course in Tenerife now and see it with your own eyes!