Photos: Sergio Betancort
The Arrecife Carnivals have already begun with the proclamation of "the friends of the Carnival". At 5:00 p.m., the capital's carnival procession departed from the mouth of the Chico dock, headed by the city's mayor, Eva de Anta, accompanied by the Councilor for Festivities, David Duarte, and some councilors from the government group, as well as the Tourism Councilor, Echedey Eugenio, and the President of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés. Everyone has made the journey to the Charco de San Ginés with the thrilling rhythms of the Batucada Villa Pipol, who this year are sporting the Elf Warrior fantasy, designed by the same batucada.
Once in the Charco, the heralds joined and when they were placed in front of the stage, the batucada offered one of their compositions that was accompanied with great enthusiasm by the public. Once the performance of Villa Pipol was finished, the mayor of the Arrecife city council, Eva de Anta, took the floor and invited "all those present to participate and enjoy the happiest and most fun festivities of the city." Subsequently, David Duarte, Councilor for Festivities, made a brief review of "how the beginnings of the carnival in Arrecife were, where the imagination of the citizens over the years has managed to turn them into a popular demonstration, where for a few days the joy, color and citizen participation goes out into the street to enjoy them"
After the speeches, the heralds, José Negrín, Juan Perdomo and Toni Orosa, took to the stage and based their proclamation on an extensive photographic report where the protagonists wore many of those fantasies from the early 70s when these parties were known as "Winter Festivals", and they were celebrated in the societies of the capital. Afterwards, they moved on to the stages where different shows were carried out, which were followed by the public who came en masse to enjoy each of them. Before concluding with the proclamation, Juan Perdomo, who was always very good at singing, transformed himself into a flamenco dancer and performed Lola Flores' famous song, La Zarzamora. Once it was finished, the mayor, the Councilor for Festivities and the president of the Cabildo presented each herald with a sculpture with the symbol of the city "Puente de Las Bolas".