Orlando Callero, artistic director of the 2025 Arrecife Carnival, was on Radio Lanzarote - Onda Cero's Más de uno Lanzarote program this Tuesday to discuss some issues about his experience organizing and designing the events for this 2025 Arrecife Carnival.
Callero, in addition to experiencing carnival since he was old enough to understand, has also worked on events of this festival in other municipalities of Lanzarote such as Haría or San Bartolomé.
"It is a huge responsibility to be an artistic director, more than anything because in the end it is not failing oneself, but failing the carnival, because one always tends to say: 'well, I would do this or that', and suddenly you find yourself in the situation that you have to do it yourself," he said.
In this regard, the artistic designer stated that "it is a new challenge even though I have already done galas in other municipalities, but this is on a larger scale, you have to move more people and you have to have a larger program and so on, but I am happy and grateful."
Callero also took advantage of his presence on the program to point out that his goal with his work is to "frame the Arrecife Carnival in the position it deserves."
Change of scenery
Regarding the stage, the designer indicated that "this change is notorious and beneficial because we are already talking about a much larger and more comfortable auditorium, the stage is of enormous dimensions compared to what we had and a dressing room also in favor of the groups and all parties involved in the carnival."
However, for Orlando Callero it also represents a challenge due to its large size, which may pose an added difficulty. "It is not the same to play on a small stage because you can fill it with 10 people, than to play with a stage that has 24 meters by 18 at the front," he declared.
Events
Next Friday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m., the carnival will start in the city of Arrecife with the opening speech from the old pier of Puerto Naos, which, for the first time, will be held together with the drag gala. "The idea of the City Council was to start from the first moment in style. The speakers have already been announced, which are the carnival groups, so it is going to be a quite powerful and historic opening speech because a lot of people are going to pass through the stage," Callero explained.
Likewise, he continued stating that "the approach is that it is going to be a very emotional gala in which the heart of the carnival will be valued, that is, the groups, because we can have all the party in the world, but if we don't have a murga, a comparsa or a batucada, the carnival would not be what it is."
After the opening speech, the drag gala will arrive with the participation of six drags from Gran Canaria and four from Lanzarote. In his interview, Callero left in the air whether the gala will finally be a contest or will simply remain as an exhibition, since the bureaucratic process is still to be confirmed.
After the end of the drag gala, Callero announced that a small open-air dance will take place. Saturday the 22nd will be the Day Carnival and, on Sunday the 23rd, the children's murga contest will start with the participation of a total of four groups.
The artistic designer highlighted that from childhood it is necessary to "culturize children from school because carnival is not only February, it is our culture." In this case, the participants will be given the leading role. For its part, on Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 the adult murga contest will begin, the final of which will be on Friday 28.
On Wednesday the 26th, it will be the turn of the comparsas and the following day, Thursday the 27th, Arrecife will elect its sovereign of the elderly of Lanzarote in which "a super gala will be held and each of them will have their designer."
For his part, Callero also explained that the day carnival of the capital of Lanzarote will be held in Agramar, which will be distributed in two spaces, "one from 12:00 to 00:00 that will go down the Puerto Naos avenue, outside Agramar, and then from 00:00 to 04:00 it will be held inside."
On Saturday, March 1st, there will also be a day carnival and, in addition, at 6:00 p.m. the Meeting of Dance Schools of Lanzarote will take place, in which he highlighted "the enormous involvement of the participants for the opportunity to show off on a stage that offers them the conditions that they do not have the rest of the year."
The Carnival Queen Election Gala will be two in one
One of the most anticipated galas is the election of the carnival queen which, this year, will be held on Sunday, March 2nd and which, in addition, will take place after seven years without being held.
"This year the format will be two in one because we will elect the children's queen, which has not been held since 2017, and the adult queen, all in the same context, with the same presenters and with surprises," he revealed. "It will be a very carnival gala," he advanced. In total, there will be six participants in the children's gala and four in the adult gala.
Then Carnival Tuesday will arrive on March 4th, more than ten days of celebration to celebrate the carnival of the third capital of the Canary Islands in style.
Orlando Callero concluded by inviting the people of Lanzarote to "enjoy the carnival, to support it and to trust because we have an impressive quality carnival, we must value what is ours because we are incredibly lucky."
