Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival

Every year the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival transforms the capital of Tenerife into a great stage for music, fantasy and popular participation. It combines competitions and galas in closed venues with an intense celebration in the streets of the centre.

Usual date and duration

The date is variable because it depends on the Lent calendar. The events usually begin several weeks before Ash Wednesday with contests and galas; The street phase occupies the days around Carnival Tuesday and continues during the Piñata. The programme and exact dates change each edition.

Shrove Tuesday may be a local holiday if approved by the municipal work calendar for the corresponding year, but it is not a fixed state holiday. It is advisable to check each edition in the official calendar.

Where is it celebrated

The murgas competitions, troupes, groups and the queen election galas are usually concentrated in the Tenerife Fairgrounds. The street carnival occupies squares and avenues in the centre of Santa Cruz, with routes that vary depending on the organisation and security of each year.

The Announcement Parade opens the street party; The Apoteósico Coso runs along the large avenues and the Burial of the Sardine forms its procession through the centre. Stages, dances and daytime carnivals are distributed throughout the so-called carnival quadrilateral.

Also check out the festivals of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Origin and history

The City Council documents news of the celebration since the 18th century. Dances were organised in the homes of the bourgeoisie, while the people celebrated the party in the street, with masks and costumes subject to prohibitions and periods of tolerance.

During the dictatorship the festival survived under the name of Winter Festivals. In 1967 it obtained national tourist recognition and in 1980 it was declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest. Its continuity and its ability to incorporate new formats have made Carnival a central expression of the identity of Santa Cruz.

Main events and traditions

Children's and adult murgas competitions, troupes, rondallas, musical and choreographic groups.
Galas to elect the queens for children, adults and adults, with great fantasies designed for each candidate.
Announcement Parade, which begins the carnival in the street with groups, floats and characters.
Dances and concerts at night, carnivals during the day and family activities in squares and avenues.
Coso Apoteósico, great parade on Carnival Tuesday.
Burial of the Sardine, a parody procession of widows and mourners that culminates with the symbolic burning.
Rhythm and Harmony, competitive exhibition of troupes on a city avenue.

Groups, organisation and public

Festivals in Santa Cruz, a public business entity of the City Council, coordinates the programme together with the Carnival groups. Murgas, comparsas, rondallas, groups, designers, musicians, technicians, candidates, social groups, municipal services and thousands of neighbors hold a celebration that also attracts visitors from the Canary Islands, the Peninsula and other countries.

Reconocimiento turístico y patrimonio vivo

The declaration of a Festival of International Tourist Interest dates back to 1980. The City Council itself considers the Carnival a manifestation of the intangible heritage of Santa Cruz, due to its intergenerational transmission, its stable groups and the festive occupation of urban space.