Traditional night of Parrandos

Every Spanish person, whom I meet, seems a happy person. I have yet to see a frown on their face. Well they have reason to be. During these four months that I have been here in Tenerife, I have noticed that there has been festival every week-end at some or the other part of this island. Lucky people, they have just siesta and fiesta. The part of the island where I am staying there is tranquillity at all times. People walk at their own pace, no one is in hurry to reach anywhere, their working hours are only from 9am to 1pm and then from 4pm to 8pm. And between one and four, I don’t see anybody on the road except few cars crossing the village. Sometimes, when I am walking on the streets during those hours, I can even hear my own footsteps. I get surprised, when people who know me, stop their car in the middle of the road to chat with me and nobody is honking...how strange! Nobody is honking! During the evenings, I see them in the clubs, watching football match or reading paper, and in the residential areas, I see people sitting outside their home and chatting with their neighbours, most of them might be planning for the next week-end party. This weekend there was an event at the fiesta called Parrandos. I was interested and I asked my brother to take me. We went there around 10pm, and streets were lighted and alive with smiling faces. All the people were dressed in their traditional clothes and formed their own group and sang the folk music. There were many different groups at various tables, each group had their own their traditional dress. Every table had peanuts, gofio (a sweet dish made of flour) and bottles of wine which they had in between their own traditional songs and music. There was a surprised meal too (a special treat) and I was tempted dig into that plate of corn and meat. The party went on for another two hours and was followed by another party for younger groups,

World Tourism Day

This Saturday, a ´World Day of Tourism ´ was celebrated in Icod De Los Vinos. There was a parade of musician dressed in the traditional clothes on the streets. Different workshops were organised in the park where children learnt to make toys from plywood, tins, wires and bamboos Some of the children enjoyed wheeling around in the home made carts.

Festival of Cristo del Calvario,

Fiestas in Tenerife are not quite over. There is fiesta del Santisimo, Cristo del Calvario, in this town of Icod de Los Vinos. There are line-up of events, extending up to 5th of October 2008. This week end they had selection of Icod queen and Icod princess.They have built a beautiful stage with white back ground in Plaza Andres de Lorenzo Caceras, out in the open air. The children’s show is the one that is interesting for me. The children paraded down the steps, gracefully, in their beautiful outfits waving a flying kiss to the audience. While the participants changed into their different outfits, there was variety entertainment show by other talented children There were even Disney characters that kept the children enthralled And when Mickey decided to come down the stage to greet the children, every child wanted to shake his hand. It was a perfect evening to spend in the company of smiling faces of kids of this town.

Baile De Mago...A Magic Dance

In Canary Islands, the summer months, June, July, August are the months of Fiesta and Siesta. Canarians are happy people and you can see the aura of happiness everywhere. Throughout the summer, different parts of the island have festivals that exhibit the typical Canarian food, have live cultural shows and have mini fairs where they exhibit the typical Canarian art work. During late evening, you see them dressed in the traditional ´Mago´ dress and dancing together in the dance called ´Baila de Mago´ (Magic dance). There is a popular song that is favoured amongst Canarians,with beautiful lyrics : Con el baile del mago Haces tú lo que yo hago Giras tú la cadera Dando vuelta y ya está Con un poco de magia Un hechizo tú lanzas Y al pobre de al lado En sapo convertirás This Saturday, ´Baile de Mago´ was organised at our club in Icod. The criteria for attending and participating in this event is that you have to be dressed in the traditional dress. The club was dressed for the festival with seating arrangement all around the pool.Front side was reserved for dancing and orchestra, the remaining three sides of the pool had long rectangular tables that could accomodate a group of twenty people. The food that was served was typical Canarias that included croquets, roast chicken, salads, tortilla, French fries and many more varieties of food. Some families had brought extra food to share with their friends. At 11pm, the orchestra started and the people started leaving their table to go to dance floor to dance to the music. and the music played... Si a veces sientes que tú estás triste, no hay problema, lo olvidarás Con este juego que ahora comienza, todo lo malo desaparecerá Adiós a las penas, adiós problemas, si ya estás listo, tú puedes jugar En una línea todos se paran y así formados ya brincarán Brinca pa’un lado, brinca pa’l otro Da media vuelta y listo estás And for next five hours they did forget their problems and pains and danced, sometimes in circles, sometimes in pairs, coming to their tables only to refresh themselves with a glass of wine or munching the assorted fruits and tapas that did their rounds throughout the event. During the wee hours of morning, after a cup of warm coffee, they returned home to snooze away the blues.

Trekking to the Holy Shrine at Candelaria

Everybody is talking about trekking during this week-end. There is a fiesta this week end called ´Dia de Candelaria´ when pilgrims all over Tenerife walk or trek to a shrine of Virgin Mary at Candelaria. It is a long walk and you see them making groups and heading towards the church which is closer to Santacruz and North airport. While most of the pilgrim leave from Santa Cruz t at 12 midnight and reach the shrine during the early hours of the morning, here in Icod de Los Vinos, pilgrims begin their journey one or two days earlier. I met the group of 15, who left at 3pm from Icod de Los Vinos. They looked cheerful with haversack containing food and drinks, torch and a walking stick for a journey of 70 kms which would take them about 15 hours to reach. I have neither strength nor stamina to walk with them, so I followed them for a while and then retreated my steps as I saw them disappear into the woods. The trek is through the steep beaten path of hills, trees and shrubs. There are path-signs at regular interval directing the proper route to follow. There is one point on the route which is the meeting point where different groups from different parts of the island meet. This point offers the beautiful panoramic view of the island. It is the resting place and they share their eats and drinks and let their hair down. In between their journey of beaten path, they cut through concrete roads, where there is traffic and if somebody is too tired to walk, he can continue his journey in the car that may be driven by one of their friends. The last five hours of the trek are quite difficult and the route is going downhill, climbing down the huge rocks. At the end of the journey, they are breathless, tired and silent, they offer their prayers at the secret shrine and are back home to sleep for next 24 hours brushing away the pains from their tired limbs.

Walking down the streets in Puerto de la Cruz

This week end I decided to pass my week-end with my niece at Puerto de la Cruz, which is on the north of the island about 20 minutes away from Buen Paso where I am staying. Going to Puerto de la Cruz and sitting indoors is not a good idea. So even though I am still afraid to walk freely with a broken arm, my niece insisted that we go for a short walk down the street. Puerto de la Cruz is bustling with activity. There are people everywhere. Narrow streets of the Old Town, packed with colonial architecture, make walking a safer bet than driving. The city is packed with tourist during this month of August. .There are cafes and restaurants in every street that has no traffic or walking plazas. The stores display their article outside the shops and attract the passer-by. This is a town of two halves. To the west of Plaza del Charco, whitewashed houses and cobbled lanes reflect the serenity of years gone by. Whilst to the east, the excited chatter of holidaymakers reverberates around the labyrinth of cafés and restaurants. Just a short walk in any direction, and I am surrounded by quaint stores that carry local handicrafts, cafes and bars, produce stores (the bananas are absolutely delicious), fantastic wine stores and the old harbor. San Telmo is a neighbourhood that bridges old Puerto to new Puerto. That "bridge", Paseo San Telmo, is dense with tourists, stores, gelato shops, and restaurants. The hotel lined streets and avenues behind the walkway reach out like arms, encouraging travellers to rest. We walked, rested for coffee and pastries, walked again, stopped for hamburgers and sandwiches, walked the bridge through San Thelmo, resting a while, watching the world pass by. The short evening walk lasted four hours actually and was not tiring at all.

Poetry and Story telling Performance.....

Last evening, I was invited for music, poetry and story-telling performance by a famous group of Tenerife called Sol Y Sombra. After dinner, we went to ´´Casa de Los Caceres´´ which is a heritage building, in Icod de Los Vinos, made of wood and stones. During day, there are many art exhibitions held in this place which exhibits the art and culture of Canarias. The show was held in the patio of this cultural centre and we were greeted with a glass of iced-gin tonic with basil leaves, and we sat there under the open skies, sipping the drink and watching the show. The patio, which is in the centre of the building, is surrounded by wooden windows of all the exhibit rooms, and it was from one of those windows, that we heard the musical voice of a singer, we looked up and saw him move from one window to another with a candle in his hand, his song resonating the patio as he walked down the steps behind the patio and he finally emerged the patio to present the show. The mood was set. There were musicians playing guitar/piano and the two artists who kept us captivated with their songs, poems and animated stories. There was a good interaction between the live music and the song. After each performance, the actors and musicians kissed each other expressing their gratitude and there was loud applause. The audience clearly mesmerised, wanted as many story telling performances as they could get. One could see that each artist performed with great passion, showing stunning melodic creativity and an ever fertile imagination. Although I am not too fluent in my Spanish, I could still follow the story from their powerful expressions. Such was the show that has clung to my memory and I am still relishing the tunes…..

Main streets of Icod de Los Vinos

Icod de Los Vinos is a small village in the North of the island famous for its tourist attraction. It is famous for its Drago Milenario, which is a dragon tree believed to be of 1000 years old, and it also has a butterfly centre called Mariposario. Many tourist visit Icod de los Vinos to see these 2 main attractions. There is no big mall in Icod, however there are 2 main shopping lanes in Icod de los Vinos: Calle San Agustin and Calle San Sebastian that are right angles to each other separated by a town hall to its corners. The lanes are full of small shops that cater to the locals. Most of the shops are run by women. It is a small town where everybody knows each other and the shoppers will wait for a long chat if they visit your store.

Festival of Carmen

Summer in Tenerife means lots of festival and it is the best time to visit tis place. Every part of Tenerife has its own set of festivals. Natives of Canarias believe in Fiestas n siestas. This weekend there was a festival of Carmen celebrated in North of Tenerife at Puerto de la Cruz. This is a fiesta with strong connections to the sea, so water figures highly throughout the day. Huge crowd gathers at the sea front at San Thelmo, playing with water pistols splashing water on innocent bystanders. By late afternoon the area around the harbour becomes a thronging mass and the little beach disappears under a sea of people. Around 6.30pm an excited murmur spreads through the crowd announcing the arrival of San Telmo, followed by La Virgen del Carmen, both carried proudly on the shoulders of local fishermen. As they move with a rhythmic swaying motion which simulates being at sea, the mood of the crowd changes from one of frivolity to religious fervour and devotees clamour to touch the figures for luck. At the lovingly decorated shrine at the top of the harbour, La Virgen pauses to be serenaded by a rendition of ‘Ave Maria’ which sends a tingle down the spine. Only the hardest heart won’t be moved by the sheer intensity of emotion at that moment; all around tear stained cheeks glisten in the sunlight. The strains of ‘Ave Maria’ subside, replaced with cries of “¡Viva La VirgenỊ” and “¡Viva San TelmoỊ” which accompany the couple as they’re carried through the crowd to the water’s edge and the brightly decorated boats which have been chosen to take them on their brief sea cruise. It’s a painfully slow journey. A barrage of fireworks and blaring klaxons applaud their departure and the fact that a good fish supply should be guaranteed for another year and everyone can wander away to dry out before the sun disappears below the horizon. Celebrations take place throughout July and include the obligatory crowning of the fiesta queen, traditional Canarian dances, Jazz and rock concerts, antique car rallies, sporting events and air displays. source: http://www.realtenerifeislanddrives.com/