The Arrecife Carnival already has a date, from February 5 to 17, and already has space. And this year it has not one, not two, but three different zones. The Carnival will be held between the Fairground, the vicinity of El Almacén and the Ramírez Cerdá Park. Thus, these festivities return to El Almacén, after two years when they began to move their location, which generated a great controversy among the people of Arrecife.
This decision has been adopted by the Department of Festivities of the Arrecife City Council due to fear that the works being carried out in the Fairground will not be completed in time. This measure has already been communicated to the different murga groups, who this Monday attended a meeting with the responsible councilor, Luisa Blanco. In this meeting, the location and the place that each murga will take in the arena has been assigned, among other issues.
Blanco explained to La Voz that the decision to diversify the space in which the Carnival will be held has arisen because "they do not give certainty that the works will be completed by February 5". "We are already on January 11 and in less than a month we have the festivities. That is why we must make different zones," she indicated.
Change of location
Thus, she assured that the possibility of moving the entire Carnival back to El Almacén has not been studied, but that it will be taken to three different spaces. "It will be done in three places to avoid overcrowding. We will use the Fairground for the issue of the contest and the gala, but we are waiting for the works to be solved, because there are terrible potholes," Blanco said.
And it is that the transfer of the Carnival from the El Almacén area to the Fairground caused a great controversy. This began in 2008, when some of the open-air dances were located in the Fairground. This decision was highly criticized, since many residents claimed the space of El Almacén as the nerve center of the Carnival. However, it was not until 2009 when the party was moved, which this year, at least part of it, will return to El Almacén, as many residents have wished.
"The important thing is to enjoy"
Leaving the controversy aside, Luisa Blanco hopes that the residents of Arrecife will enjoy the festivities. "The most important thing is to enjoy, there is already enough crisis. I hope that most of the people participate, go out to the street and have a good time," she confided.
The councilor has also assured that the Security Board must meet to set the guidelines and the way of acting during the Carnivals.
