Fiestas on Tenerife: Fiestas de Mayo 2010 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

It's a month of partying in Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz to celebrate the founding of the city way, way back in 1492 (wasn't that when Columbus sailed the ocean blue?)

Just as it does during carnaval, the city explodes into life with a heady mix of traditional, contemporary and sporting events.

The fun kicks off this Friday and the highlights to look out for are: Election of the fiesta queen (Plaza Candelaria, 9pm, Saturday 25th April); traditional flower exhibition (Parque García Sanabria, 6pm, Wednesday 28th April) and the dance of the magos (Calle La Noria, 9pm, Sunday 2nd May).

It seems to me that this year's celebrations are more traditional and less contemporary than in previous years.

For the full line up of activities see here (Spanish only)

Christmas on Tenerife – La Orotava

La Orotava, Tenerife’s classiest town is second only to La Laguna when it comes to cultural events… and not by far.

This year’s festival calendar includes music in the streets most nights between 6pm and 8pm; Tenerife’s biggest life-size belén filling much of the plaza outside the town hall; saxophone and folklore concerts; art exhibitions (‘Mi Alma al Desnudo’ looks particularly interesting at the Casa de la Cultura de San Agustín between 23/12 and 08/01) and a science fair (also at the Casa de la Cultura; on 12th and 13th from 10am).

The big Christmassy feel event is the concert in the Iglesia de la Concepción on the 19th at 8.30pm featuring the sweet voices of more than 10 choirs.

Another for aficionados of local heroes to look out for is the concert by Benito Cabrero at the Auditoio de Teobaldo Power at 8.30pm on the 18th. This man has enthralled New York’s Carnegie Hall with his timple playing skills.


See full agenda here.

Events on Tenerife - ExpoInfancia 2009, Children’s Fair in Santa Cruz

If anything to do with rugrats makes you go all goo-goo, gaa-gaa then you might be interested in hearing about ExpoInfancia 2009 at the Recinto Ferial (Trade Fair Centre) in Santa Cruz.

The fair covers everything to do with children from clothes to wear when they’re a bulge in the belly to changing the classy sports car for a boring family model and decorating their rooms to arranging parties – I’m not sure if there are any stalls dedicated to how to get rid of them when they’re still a drain on finances long after they should have flown the coop.

If you’re like me and subscribe to the W.C Fields approach to kiddiewinkles, then you’ll probably have something better to do during the 3 days of the fair.

Dates: 20th to 22nd November

Times: 11.00 to 21.00

Entrance: €2

Events on Tenerife – Tenerife Design Festival

It’s arty farty time in the capital as stylish Santa Cruz looks trendier than ever this week when designers from around the world showcase their work in galleries and plazas around the city for the Tenerife Design Festival.

So what is the Tenerife Design Festival? Well I think the festival’s website can explain it better than I can.

Expect to see designs which show that “…concepts are the starting point for establishing synergies between local factors and international proposals, consolidating design as tool of change and economic stimulus.”

If you know what that means send answers on a postcard to…

A healthy dose of pretentiousness is great now and again and usually guarantees that the exhibitions throughout the week will be visually stimulating.

Dates: 19th to 25th October

Location: Various venues around Santa Cruz

See Full Programme Here

Fiestas on Tenerife – Fiestas Patronales de Adeje (Virgen de La Encarnación)

If you can’t take Mohammed to the mountain…

The resort of Costa Adeje isn’t particularly a stronghold of Canarian culture, but visitors should be able to get a taste of the real Tenerife without having to stray too far from their sun beds during October when Adeje holds its Fiestas in honour of the Virgen de La Encarnación. Admittedly most of the events take place in the old town, but some make their way to the coast including the ‘sortija de caballos’ on Saturday 17th October when local horsemen ride their steeds into the sea next to the municipal swimming pool at around 16.00.
Other events include parades, a romería, concerts, firework displays and open air dances (all in Adeje town).

Dates: 3rd to 18th October

Highlights:
10th – A full programme of events, the highlight being the parade in Calle Grande at 21.00 followed by a verbena (that's Spanish for party with music & wine) at 23.00.
17th – Day of Traditions and Folklore. The Sortija de Caballeros at 16.00 is followed by a folklore concert and another ‘verbena’ at the recinto ferial in adeje from 21.00.

See Full Agenda Here.

Exhibitions on Tenerife - Saqueo de Souvernilandia, La Laguna

A deliciously tasty and irreverent finishing touch to the ‘Exhibition of Souvenirs’ at the Museum of History and Anthropology in La Laguna is ‘Saqueo de Souvernilandia’ by artists Alicia Ríos and Antoni Miralda. The pair mix art and food to create amusing masterpieces (see the edible London exhibit in the photo) in what they term ‘cannibalism culture’.

Personally, I think it’s a great idea. If you don’t like the exhibit… eat it; which is what is going to happen to the exhibit at around 20.00 on the 2nd of October. So get up there before then if you want to see the piece in its entirety.

UPDATE: The edible part of the exhibition wont be at the Museum until Friday, it's currently in La Matanza  (but I had to go to the museum to find that little fact out). It will be devoured, so the incredibly helpful attendant told me rubbing her tum in anticipation, as previously stated on Friday at 20.00.

The Tourist exhibition is on at the Museum and although there's an amusing ironic aspect to it, any visitors going out of there way to see it and finding a mock-up of a hotel dining room might just think someone's havin' a laugh.


Location: Museo de Historia y Antropología de Tenerife, Casa Lercaro, La Laguna

Harlem Globetrotters in Tenerife

I used to love watching the Harlem Globetrotters on TV, but that was centuries ago. I didn’t even realise they were still strutting their stuff on basketball courts around the world until I saw the unmistakeable stars and stripes strip on a poster in Puerto de la Cruz some time back.

That’s right, the legendary clowns of the basketball courts are bringing their inimitable show to Tenerife next month for a one night gig at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes in Santa Cruz.

Date: 9th October

Time: 21.00

Tickets: From €20 available here from CajaCanarias

Exhibitions on Tenerife: Orcas at the TEA

There’s no need to take to the high seas to see whales on Tenerife this month.

Whales seem to be a popular subject matter, with the festival in Los Silos and now, this exhibition of 18 sculpted beautifully and imaginatively painted orcas outside of the TEA (Tenerife Espacio de las Artes) in Santa Cruz. These fun creatures are worth a visit if you happen to be visiting the capital and the TEA building is an interesting piece of architecture in its own right.

Dates: Until 4th October

Fiestas on Tenerife - The Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo, La Laguna

There are too many events taking place as part of The Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo in La Laguna to list. Apart from the usual processions, there are classical concerts, the famous annual Sabandeño performance, comedy nights, musicals, galas, flower battles in the streets, art exhibitions, parades, firework displays, Dance Festivals (including a homage to Michael Jackson), rock concerts, pop concerts and a folk concert with the lovely Alba Pérez and as they say, much, much more.

I’m guessing that not a lot of work is going to get done in La Laguna during September.

Highlights

5th September – XXXI Sabadeño Festival, Plaza del Cristo, 21.30

12th September – Battle of the Flowers, Around the old city streets, 18.00

13th September – La Pandorga Cabalgata, traditional parade from Iglesia de la Concepción, 20.00

14th September – Main Firework display with fireworks from 3 factories followed by a dance, Plaza del Cristo, Midnight.

15th September – Dance Festival featuring Sleeping Beauty and a homage to Michael Jackson, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

16th September – Rock Festival with La Vieja Morla, Oi Se Arma and Perro Cruz, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

17th September – Folk Festival with Alba Pérez, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

19th September – Pop Festival with La Sonrisa de Julia, Plaza del Cristo, 21.00

25th September – Heineken Campus Rock with El Canto del Loco, Taxi, Sidonie and Nena Daconte, 21.00

Eólica 2009 – Music Festivals on Tenerife

Eólica 2009, the “well is it happening, or isn’t it?” festival is a definite ‘is’ and what’s more, buy your ticket early and save €7.

The festival includes more than 30 acts from around the world including Scottish alternative rockers, Teenage Fanclub, Barcelona’s post punkers, Cat People, France’s ‘atmospheric techno’ DJ Oxio and Madrid's, Telephunken DJs.

Add to that a bit of alternative theatre, magic, exhibitions, stands and you’ve got the ingredients for a top festival. And you know what the best thing is? Unlike UK festivals, there’s absolutely no chance that the weather is going to rain on Eólica’s parade.

Location: ITER, Instituto Tecnológico de Energías Renovables, Granadilla

Date: 18th July

Tickets: €18 in advance, €25 on the day (see Eólica 2009 website for more details and bus timetable from Santa Cruz and Los Cristianos)

Angele Etoundi Essamba – Exhibitions in Tenerife

“Photography is for me a need, the need to express and to communicate. As long as the need will exist, I will create.”

Angele Etoundi Essamba

Anyone with a love of photography, whether it’s taking photographs or enjoying others people’s work, should get along to TEA (Tenerife Espacio de las Artes) to have a perusal of the incredible work of the Cameroon born photographer, Angele Etoundi Essamba.

‘Desvelos’, her exhibition as part of the ‘Africa Vive’ initiative, is a collection of portraits designed to ‘unveil’ the dignity and sensitivity of African women inspired by the artist’s travels in Zanzibar – beautiful and evocative.

Location: TEA (Tenerife Espacio de las Artes), Santa Cruz

Dates: Till 12th July

The Guanches and the Sea – Exhibitions on Tenerife

Anyone who’s interested in the history of Tenerife, especially in the guys and gals in their fur Speedos and bikinis that lived on Tenerife prior to the conquest, will find the new exhibition at the Museum of Man and Nature fascinating.
“Los guanches y el mar. La pesca en el mundo antiguo” explores the relationship between the Guanches and the sea and fishing in particular and asks questions about the mysterious origins of the enigmatic aborigines.

If you’ve never been to the museum, it’s located in a beautiful building in the capital and is definitely worth a visit.

Location: El Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (the Museum of Man and Nature), Santa Cruz

Dates: Until 28th June

Fiestas on Tenerife – The May Fiestas in Santa Cruz

The bigger towns and cities on Tenerife don’t just have fiestas lasting a couple of days; they have fiestas which last for a whole month. Santa Cruz was founded on 3rd May 1494 which is as good an excuse as any for holding a month-long party to celebrate.

During this month of flowers, highlights include the election of a fiesta queen, the traditional ‘Baile de Magos’ (literally ‘Dance of the Magicians’, but on Tenerife, mago is a term used for country people), procession of the cross which the city was name after, concerts, sports events, floral exhibitions and all sorts amounting to a jam packed programme of over 260 hours of events:

Timetable: See full programme here (IN SPANISH)

Exhibitions on Tenerife – Traditional Canarian Food Fair in Los Cristianos

Anyone in the south of Tenerife who isn’t familiar with traditional Canarian cuisine should pop into the Cultural Centre in Los Cristianos over the weekend. The centre is one of the best of its kind on the island and always seems to have something interesting going on. This weekend it’s a Canarian food fair with an exhibition of the basic ingredients used by Canarios since the days of the Guanche and the conquest.

You can’t say you’ve ‘Gone Native’ (shameless plug there) until you’ve tried some gofio cakes, the island’s award winning smoked goat’s cheeses, or its unique honeys…and there are local wines to quaff as well, so go along and eat drink and be merry.

Location: Cultural Centre, Los Cristianos

Dates: 25th & 26th April

Time: 11.00 to 20.00

Exhibitions on Tenerife – Antique and Classic Cars

Playa de las Américas is going for a record this weekend with an attempt to organise a gathering of the biggest collection of antique and classic cars in the Canary Islands.

As well as beauties from Tenerife, organizers are expecting at least 45 cars from Gran Canaria, 23 from La Palma and 5 from La Gomera – no mention of El Hierro (I’m not sure the automobile has reached there yet).

A display of spruced up old dames on the esplanade in front of the Hotel Conquistador sounds like something a bit different for Playa de las Américas…on the other hand…

Location: Hotel Conquistador

Date: Sunday, 26th April

Time: From 10.00

Spring on Tenerife – A Blooming Good Time

Parque García Sanabria rewards visitors with a floral feast for the eyes at any time of the year, but the added attraction of an exhibition of flowers and plants in the park and at the end of April cranks up its breathtaking beauty levels another notch of two.

If you haven’t seen this fantastic park yet, you’re really missing out on one of Tenerife’s gems.

Place: Parque García Sanabria, Santa Cruz

Dates: 26th April to 4th May

Exhibitions on Tenerife – Blubber Bots

Before anyone gets excited, this isn’t an exhibition of photographs taken on Tenerife’s nudist beaches. It’s an interactive display of a strange and wonderful world of friendly A.I. helium filled robots – Blubber Bots, created by New York born artist Jed Berk, which float around making whale sounds and are attracted by light, sound, colours, heat and…mobile phones.

Sounds freaky and definitely worth a look.

Venue: Teatro del Círculo de Bellas Artes, Santa Cruz

Dates: 3rd April to 9th May

Carnaval 2009 in Puerto de la Cruz - Antique Car Exhibition

People who find Carnaval all a bit too frenetic (and I have heard that there are some), might prefer a more calming stroll around the exhibition of Antique cars on Avenida Colón tomorrow.

There will be some wonderful old antique models spruced up to look their best; a statement which could equally be applied to the nightly street parties.

Time: 13.00

Tenerife Exhibitions – 'Zapatos de Cine' - The Shoe must go on!

This is the sort of exhibition that Carrie Bradshaw would just love. On show are replicas and actual shoes worn by actresses and actors in some of the biggest films on the silver screen.

Exhibits include shoes worn by Kirsten Dunst in the colourful ‘Maria Antoinette’ (by Sex and the City fave, Manolo Blahnik), James Dean’s boots from ‘Rebel without a Cause’, and the shoes worn by Marilyn Monroe in her last film.

It’s an exhibition with a difference…tell every ‘sole’ you know about it; you’d be a ‘heel’ to miss it.

Venue: Convent of Santo Domingo, La Laguna

Dates: 9th February to 27th March

The Art of Photography

As much paintings as photographs, local Portuense artist Imeldo Bello’s haunting images from his collection ‘Retratos 1970 – 2008’ stay in the memory. Never one for sticking to the ‘rules’, Bello’s whimsical experimentation with the camera produces some truly stunning results. Check them out for yourself; hardly your average holiday snaps, are they?

Venue: Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias, Puerto de la Cruz
Dates: 9th January 2009 to 3rd February 2009
Time: 11.00-13-00, 18.00-20-00 Monday to Friday
Price: Free