Photos: Sergio Betancort
It was a little after 6:30 p.m. when the carnival procession, headed by the Villa Pipol batucada, departed from the area known as Las Cuatro Esquinas. This formation of 29 members is sporting the fantasy entitled "Indigenous Islander" this year. The public, as soon as they heard the first bars, set off very animatedly behind the batucada. Flanked by the mayor of the city of Arrecife, José Montelongo, and the festival councillor, Zebenzui Rodríguez, the brand-new town crier, Alfonso Duro Cabezón, walked along Calle Real under the watchful eye of the public who were in the city centre at that time.
In this way, the procession arrived at the esplanade of the castle of San Gabriel where it was received by the cultural collective "Los Diablos de Haría", also in charge of performing the fire dance on the occasion of the San Juan festivities - On this occasion, Los Diablos were distributed along the access corridor to the castle and the roof of the fortress with lit torches. Acto followed, the Councillor for Festivities, Zebenzui Rodríguez addressed the public present inviting them to participate in the Carnival of Fear. Subsequently, the mayor, José Montelongo, made a brief but emotional presentation of the town crier of whom he was "very proud that he accepted the invitation extended from the town hall to proclaim these carnivals".
Duro Cabezón took a journey from the 60s almost to the present day. On more than one occasion the town crier was forced to make a stop, overcome by the emotion of what he was recounting and above all of the moment he was experiencing. Without a doubt, it has been a great success to have chosen Alfonso Duro Cabezón as town crier, since many of those present in some of his stories also saw themselves reflected in the way he told how the carnival had started in Arrecife. "A carnival that arose from the people and that over the years, new sections have been added, many of which we are enjoying today". While the town crier was recounting anecdotes and experiences, the public interrupted him with applause on more than one occasion.
Once the reading of the proclamation was finished, the mayor of the city, José Montelongo, presented him with a commemorative plaque at the same time that the first musical notes of the group presided over by the town crier "Salsa Verde" began to sound. A group that did not want to miss the occasion and support its director in this way. The public, as soon as they heard the first musical notes, occupied the esplanade to dance to the sound of Salsa Verde.
