A Unique Flavor of Celebration in Spain

Spain is the beautiful country on the coast of Mediterranean Sea. This is the country of festivals, fiestas and ferias. Every town in Spain, whether small or big celebrate all the local festivals. During festivals all the townsfolk come out on the streets partying with their neighbors. Apart from Bull fighting festival, Spain is also popular for its spectacular carnivals. There are wild celebrations in Tenerife and Cadiz, the cities of Spain, during the Carnival festivals in February. Carnivals are held throughout Spain but these at Tenerife and Cadiz are spectacular to watch and much fun to enjoy. Tenerife Carnival, the largest, loudest and most dazzling is held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands during the second week of February. It is possibly the biggest party held in Europe. As with all the carnivals in Spain, the local population spent months getting ready for the festival which is held the week before Ash Wednesday each year. It is most similar with Rio Carnival in Brazil, with a strong emphasis on beauty pageants and contests of every sort. The carnival is carried out with fancy dress parades and hundreds of musicians and dancers coming out on streets with live music. The festival begins with the crowning of the Carnival Queen and is followed by a large horse parade that involves a great number of flamboyantly dressed and prepared horses. One large street party is held at the end of the long weekend celebrations with loud music and dancing lasting well into the night. The main pageant at the Carnival is to decide the carnival queen. This is a big, spectacular event that takes several hours. Extremely extravagant costumes are worn by beauties. There are also junior pageants, senior pageants and (in some places in Tenerife) drag queen pageants. The most exciting place to be present during the carnival is the port area. This area is full of wine and eateries where crowd enjoy a lot. Hire a car if you desire to visit this place as this is the best available option during festive time. The carnival is usually based on different themes. The general theme is to dress up as something. There is a specific theme each year and of course the cross dressing wherein the genders change their clothing. The parade also consists of local entertainers called as murgas (the satirical, comedic folk singers), comparsas (the dancers) and Mascarillas (the masked unknowns) The carnival ends with the Burial of the Sardine or as said in Spanish Entierro de la Sardina. This involves burning of a large paper maiche model of a sardine. Although the carnival is celebrated extravagantly in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it is actually celebrated in every town and village throughout Tenerife. If you are planning to witness this carnival then it is better to plan your trip in advance as this will help you get the best deals of Spain car hire and accommodations.