Home to the second largest carnival in the world and the largest in Spain, the annual Tenerife Carnival has just announced that it will take the theme of ‘New York’ for its 2023 edition. Those who got a taste for music, dancing and colourful parades at the recent Notting Hill Carnival can scale up in 2023 with a visit to Tenerife for increased extravagance.
Hosted in Santa Cruz, the island’s capital city, the 2023 Tenerife Carnival will take place from 20 January to 26 February 2023, with the street Carnival taking place specifically from 17 to 26 February 2023. With exciting events, parades and parties taking place through the day and night, those in search of elation and liberation will not be disappointed.
Three unmissable celebrations taking place during the carnival period include: Carnival Queen Election Gala, on 15 February 2023, Opening Parade of the Carnival (17 February 2023), with February 21, 2023 welcoming the Big Carnival Parade in Santa Cruz.
The Spaniards and Portuguese introduced carnival to Tenerife in the sixteenth century under presumably religious origins. Over the years, it evolved until the prosperity of the 1920s arrived, favouring the celebration to the point that in 1925, the first Carnival Programme was established by the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Though the Spanish Civil War brought it to a pause, many continued to celebrate in the privacy of their homes.
In 1961, the celebration of Carnival resumed under the euphemistic name of Winter Festivities, which in 1967 were declared a Celebration of National Tourist Interest. Eventually the Carnival recovered its name and became the ultimate festivity of Santa Cruz, which was declared a Celebration of International Tourist Interest in 1980.
Since then, Tenerife Carnival has become the world’s second most popular carnival after Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Visitors to Tenerife can discover the history and culture of Tenerife Carnival at La Casa Del Carnaval, located in Barranco de Santos next to the bridge Puente Galcerán.
Home to a permanent exhibition hall featuring costumes and key items relating to the carnival, visitors can book onto a tour and become a carnival connoisseur.
