Carnival is celebrated in every town and village on the island, but the most spectacular carnival celebrations are to be found in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Puerto de la Cruz.

The Santa Cruz festivities are almost the island carnival as it attracts so many people from all over the island. There is a very complete programme of activities drawn up by the fiestas committee of each town council.

Carnival is celebrated in the street. Plaza de España, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is decorated and many different kinds of stalls and kiosks are set up, giving the area music and a festive atmosphere.. Once elections have been held for Carnival Queen, her Court and the Junior Carnival Queen, a parade is organised to announce the beginning of Carnival.

The following week is a busy one filled with competitions between different kinds of Carnival groups, bands and dance schools: murgas, rondallas, comparsas, fancy dress competitions and a parade of antique cars. Carnival reaches a climax on carnival Tuesday , with the "coso" (a parade that starts in the afternoon, early evening.

The burial of the sardine is another ritual that is carried out in all the places we have mentioned, although the "burials" held in Los Realejos, La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz are the best. The sardine is made from rags and cloths. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, an enormous sardine sitting on a throne is carried through the streets on a float, followed by an entourage of mourners, pregnant men and widows in floods of tears and general hysteria.

The festivities end on the Saturday and Sunday after Carnival Tuesday, with the "Piñata Chica" and all its shows, street parties, parades and exhibitions.

This popular festivity has been declared of national tourist interest. The first popular pilgrimage to San Isidro took place in Los Realejos in 1676.

It is an offering made by the people of the countryside to their Patron Saint. The floats that take part in the procession are no longer drawn by oxen, they are built on lorries, making the parade along the steep streets a lot easier.

After the religious service in honour of San Isidro, the floats are paraded. These are bedecked with plants, branches, flowers, farming equipment and the head of a pig that has been sacrificed for the fiesta.

Each float is a farming allegory, each one representing a street, or district. The people on the floats, in traditional dress, throw "papas arrugadas" - small potatoes boiled in their jackets -, pop corn, "gofio" - toasted corn or wheat flour, wine, etc to the crowd.

Balconies and windows are decorated with the typical attire of the island. There is also a livestock exhibition displaying all the best animals of the area. Wine bars offer free wine to spectators and participants alike.

The town council sets up typical stalls, where you can try sardines and potatoes.

The festivities, which have to be experienced rather than just watched, have been declared a tourist event.

LA OROTAVA CARPETS, EIGHTH OF CORPUS CHRISTI

The fiesta is held in June. The borough worships the Lord Jesus by making carpets to cover the streets along which the procession is going to pass, of flower petals and other natural elements.

The finest of these fiestas is undoubtedly the one held in La Orotava. The Religious service is held with great solemnity, attended by most of the town's inhabitants.

The procession is led by the Bishop of La Laguna, clergy from the Diocese, parishes and brotherhoods from Archpriest's Office, the Mayor and council of La Orotava, members of the Island Cabildo (Government), civil and military authorities, the queen of the festival and the municipal band.

Several days beforehand, local families and companies design the carpet on paper or straw matting. The outline is later filled in with petals. While men and children lay out the design, the women prepare the petals.. Everybody in town takes part, highlighting the borough's social structure.. The most spectacular carpet is the one that is made in Plaza del Ayuntamiento.. It is made from different coloured volcanic sands from the highland areas of Cañadas del Teide.. It represents three different biblical scenes. None of the figures, images or floral carpets are repeated in later years.

Specifications of the carpet of the Main Square:

This multicoloured carpet of volcanic sands from Las Cañadas del Teide covers an area of 912 square metres. The square measures 950 square metres. The volume of earth needed to make this masterpiece is 27 cubic metres, equivalent to 3,000 kilos of materials.

Town Council, Fiestas Committee, residents associations, public agencies and individual families all contribute to the splendour of the Corpus Christi celebrations.

SAN ISIDRO POPLULAR PILGRIMAGE. LA OROTAVA

The San Isidro festivities have been celebrated in La Orotava ever since the second half of the 17th century. It used to be a festival for field hands and farmers, held on the 15th of May in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Piedad, on the outskirts of town. The festivities were first devoted to San Isidro Agrícola in the 17th century.

The fiestas have changed profoundly since then, from being a tribute by field hands to their Patron Saint, to come under the control of the local aristocracy. The custom of putting up arches and a globe has been lost. The festivities are now held in June and the most popular events are the livestock fair and the popular pilgrimage. Carts are pulled by oxen, people wear traditional country costume and the women of the town decorate their balconies and windows with carpets, table cloths and shawls. The town council and the Liceo Taoro take an active part in the festivities.

This popular fiesta takes place in July. It has been declared an event of national tourist interest.

The cortege of the pilgrimage is made up of seven young women, each in the typical dress of one of the islands, who carry flowers and fruit as an offering to the Saint. They are accompanied by floats, "rondallas", "parrandas" (carnival-type song and dance groups) and livestock that parade through the streets.

This fiesta, more of an urban one than a rural one, has upgraded prizes and competitions in an attempt to turn it into a really popular fiesta. The Fiestas Committee awards prizes for balconies, window and floats decorated with typical objects and allegories related to the countryside. There is also a competition of Canary Island popular songs and traditional dress is encouraged.