Photos: Sergio Betancort
The 1st phase of the XX Murgas Contest of the Arrecife Carnival 2010 kicked off this Monday at the Fairgrounds, and with it the first four groups took to the stage: 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 the interpretation, lyrics and music category as well as in design, fantasy and costumes.
After the performance and staging of the afilarmónica Las Revoltosas, which 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 the 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 have the balls on", designed by themselves.
Irony and tribute
Half an hour later, the members of the female murga "Las Inadaptadas" occupied the stage allegorical to the king of pop, Michael Jackson, with their fantasy "Mafalda, black with laughter, took to the world of the maladjusted", directed by Cathaysa Cabrera. These murgueras, who have been performing and living the capital's Carnival for eight years, sang "They criticize me for singing with humor" and "In times of crisis, not even in Timanfaya do partridges land", 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 joke", by the designer Toño Aparicio. The 32 members of this murga performed the songs "It has no title for me, you put it on" and "The disciples of Mr. Millany?", where, in addition to the usual criticisms, they paid tribute to those who disappeared in the Cruz del Mar tragedy.
The fourth and last murga to perform this Monday 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 Yaiza municipal band), Miguel Hernández (music teacher), Rafael González (percussionist), Joaquín Molina (teacher at the Playa Honda dance academy), Ricardo Tavío (spokesperson for Aculanza), and Ángela López, an official of the Arrecife City Council, acting as secretary thereof.
Regarding the award for Best Design, Fantasy and Costumes, the jury includes the dressmaker and designer Helena Díaz, the graphic designer Yeray Toledo, the businesswoman María del Rosario González, the transvestite Carmelo Ramón Betancort, the hairdresser María de los Ángeles Hernández, and the official of the Arrecife City Council Tomás Hernández.
The II Phase of the XX Murgas Contest of the Arrecife Carnival 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.
