Photos: Sergio Betancort
Arrecife is already in Carnival mode. At 12:00, the carnival procession departed from Las Cuatro Esquinas, led by Lanzarote's most international batucada, Villa Pipol. This marks their 22nd year participating in these festivities, with 31 members showcasing a fantasy designed by the batucada itself, "Steampuck." They were responsible for announcing to the numerous people on Calle Real, with their thrilling rhythms, that the capital's carnival had begun.
A few meters behind followed the century-old and popular Banda de Agaete with its 18 members, who throughout the entire route played their bugles and drums, performing a medley of very danceable songs. Alongside them danced the Giants and Bigheads. Behind them were the four heralds, surrounded by Mayor Astrid Pérez and the councilors, dressed in fantasies suitable for a "Comic Carnival."
Also present in the parade were members of the Cultural Association "Los Diabletes de Teguise," who approached the public and gave them a tap with the "Garabato," a piece made with kidskin. Closing the carnival procession was the Cultural Association Los Buches, performing the sailor songs that were hummed by those present throughout the route.
The procession stopped next to the music kiosk where the stage was set up to begin the proclamation, which this year fell on four carnival-goers, who shared some of their experiences related to the carnival. Manuel Rodríguez, a man who has lived these festivities since he was a child, recalled when he began to dress up in his town of Soo, always as a woman with some pieces of clothing that his mother left him. Years later, when they moved to Arrecife, he made the decision to represent the peasant grandmothers of Lanzarote, who came down from the countryside to the Recova in Arrecife to sell their products. From that moment on, he has made use of peasant clothing and always carries the pirgano basket with parsley in his hands.
Another of the heralds is Tana Quintero. At the age of 8, an accident left her in a coma, when she woke up she has been achieving her goals with great effort, enthusiasm and hard work, being an active part of the murga Los Titi-Roys. In which she feels very loved by all her colleagues and is very happy participating in the murga contests and carnival parades.
Maida Morales began her approach to carnival by participating in a comparsa that would later change to the murga Lady Golosinas in which she remained for a very short time until the murga Las Pijoletas was formed. She has been in it for a total of 10 years. Maida loves to travel and currently works as an administrative assistant in a hotel.
Ayose Cruz, the fourth of the heralds to take the stage, carries the carnival in his veins. From a very young age he was part of the children's murga Los Chau Chau, later spending 10 years in total with the murga of his loves Los Desahuciados. Ayose also boasts of being a great chef and has the experience of having participated in different gastronomic fairs.
The public that crowded the surroundings of the stage was very attentive to everything that the heralds were relating and rewarded them with prolonged applause. At the end of their experiences, the heralds received commemorative plaques as a reminder of a day that will be unforgettable for them. And then the drums of the Villa Pipol batucada sounded again, putting the finishing touch to the first official act of the Comic Carnival in Arrecife.