By:

Marina García

Gonzalo Fernández

The origins of carnival, date back to ancient Egypt and Sumeria some 5000 years ago. It is usually about three days in which people disguise. In Spain the carnival is celebrated in a lot of villages. Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s carnival (Canarias Island)is the second international most popular carnival after Río de Janeiro (Brazil). Another important one is Cadiz’s carnival ( Andalucía). These two carnivals are the only Spanish carnivals which have the category of international tourist interest.

Palmas de Gran Canaria carnival is one of themost ancient parties, with a lot of history and its own character. In the parties we celebratethe election of the Queen and the Drag Queentoo. They also participate actively in severalperformances organized by the City Council.

The stage is located in Santa Catalina’s Park. There is a massive participation of thepopulation in a big parade. The Mogollones and El Funeral de la sardina (Funeral of thesardine) close the celebrations .

Drag queens are men dressed up as womenwith exaggerated features. It is a kind of femaleimpersonator ,that is,a man altering hisappearance outstanding female style in a bizarre way with the help of dramatic make up.

Drag queens are usually associated to gay men, but it doesn´t necessarily have to be true . They are really creative and an iconic characterfor the carnival in the Canary Islands.

In the south of León there are ancient ritualscalled “antruejos “. People disguise using treebranches and colourful headdresses. This is a unique representation of carnival all over theworld as you can see in the images.