Photos: Sergio Betancort
The 1st phase of the XX Arrecife Carnival Murgas Contest 2010 has already taken place, and with it, the first four groups have taken to the stage of the Fairground: Los Simplones, Las Inadaptadas, Los Intoxicados and Los Tabletuos. The contest will conclude next Friday, February 12, with the grand final, where the winning murgas will be chosen in terms of interpretation, lyrics and music, as well as design, fantasy and costumes.
After the performance and staging of the Afilarmónica Las Revoltosas, who acted as the opening act for the contest with two songs "The rap of the 7 chairs of the 7 horsemen of the Apocalypse" and "A stew half-boiled and with a lot of scum", the first competing murga took to the stage. The 47 members of Los Simplones were very well received by the numerous sympathetic public of this murga group from the Valterra neighborhood. This murga offered two themes full of irony, "One of the old ones", alluding to the carnival of yesteryear, and "I leave humor aside", where they criticized some situations that occur in Lanzarote society. Los Simplones, who are celebrating their fifth year at the Arrecife Carnival, wore the fantasy "I'm wearing the balls", designed by themselves.
Irony and tribute
Half an hour later, the members of the female murga "Las Inadaptadas" with their fantasy "Mafalda, black with laughter, took them to the world of the maladjusted", directed by Cathaysa Cabrera, took to the stage allegorical to the king of pop, Michael Jackson. These murgueras, who have been performing and experiencing the capital's Carnival for 8 years, sang "They criticize me for singing with humor" and "In times of crisis, not even partridges land in Timanfaya", a theme that they took advantage of to transform themselves into the very devil of Timanfaya with the trident included.
The third murga presented by Radio Lanzarote announcer, Francisco José Navarro, in charge of presenting this carnival event, was Los Intoxicados, who, after 28 years of Carnival, presented themselves in this twentieth edition with the fantasy "But what a clowning", by the designer Toño Aparicio. The 32 members of this murga, performed the songs "For me it has no title, you put it" and "The disciples of Mr. Millany?", where in addition to the usual criticisms, they paid tribute to those who disappeared in the tragedy of the Cruz del Mar.
The fourth and last murga to perform this past Monday, the first day of the XX edition of the Murgas Contest of the 2010 Carnival, was Los Tabletuos, with the fantasy "Supertabletas" by the designer David Morales. These 48 murgueros offered two songs under the titles "Our Carnival" and "The fumigator", referring to the situation in which the Zonzamas landfill is located.
The juries
The jury is composed in the category of Interpretation, Lyrics and Music, by Joana Machín (member of the municipal band of Yaiza), Miguel Hernández (music teacher), Rafael González (percussionist), Joaquín Molina (teacher of the dance academy of Playa Honda), Ricardo Tavío (spokesman for Aculanza), and Ángela López, an official of the Arrecife City Council, acting as secretary.
Regarding the award for Best Design, Fantasy and Costumes, the jury included the dressmaker and designer Helena Díaz, the graphic designer Yeray Toledo, the businesswoman María del Rosario González, the transvestite Carmelo Ramón Betancort and the hairdresser María de los Ángeles Hernández, and the official of the Arrecife City Council Tomás Hernández.
The II Phase of the XX Arrecife Carnival Murgas Contest 2010 continues on Tuesday night at the Fairgrounds, at 9:30 p.m., with the performance of the murgas Las Intoxicadas, Las Lady Golosinas, Los Desahuciados and Los Gorfines.
