Photos: Sergio Betancort Within the program of the San Ginés festivities, the Municipal Recova of Arrecife was transformed on Sunday afternoon into a dance hall to host for the second consecutive year the Candle Dance, which in this edition featured the participation of six folk groups.
Specifically, the folk groups La Peña de San Bartolomé, Rubicón de Yaiza, La Gran Aldea de Teguise, Guagime de Tahíche, Coros y Danzas de Arrecife and the Parranda Los Buches were in charge of animating the Candle Dance with their verses and dances, which were also followed by the public that came to the heart of Arrecife to enjoy and remember the dances of yesteryear. Each of the groups offered dances of the time such as folias, seguidillas, isas, mazurka, polka berlina, etc.
The Candle Dance takes its name from the festivals celebrated in the light of oil lamps or candles, when electricity had not yet made its appearance. These festivals were intended for young people to establish relationships with each other, where the most common way to request a dance from a woman was by asking her to please accept his request. The dance was accompanied by sung verses in which feelings of gallantry and love were expressed between the young people or of picaresque and humorous content, and the woman could respond with another verse expressing her acceptance or rejection.
The Department of Festivities of the Arrecife City Council, organizer of the event with the collaboration of Coros y Danzas Arrecife, ensured that the Candle Dance was developed with great dynamism and that the public and the participating groups could enjoy an afternoon whose objective is to promote the cultural and traditional values of the Canary Islands and rescue them so that future generations know a little more about the legacy of our ancestors.
Before the end of the second edition of the Candle Dance, the Councilor for Festivities, Nova Kirkpatrick, addressed the members of the participating groups, valuing the effort they make and encouraged them to continue working so that traditions like these are not lost. She also thanked the public for their attendance and summoned them for next year, ending the Candle Dance to the rhythm of a marine isa.
