Dancing Dwarves

At last – my first dwarf!!! I am thrilled. Yes, eight years on La Palma and still not a single dwarf spotted, except as a fridge magnet or cuddly toy ... up until last night.

You see, we are now in the 'semana grande,' the big week, of the huge fiesta where one of the many highlights is the dancing dwarves. Apparently, according to a friend, they live in the mountains except for this one night when they come down into town, disguised as bishops. And this only happens once every five years so you can imagine the excitement with thousands of people coming to see the spectacle not just from La Palma but from all over the Canary Islands. After their appearance on stage solemnly singing, they file into a castle-like tent and reappear ... as dancing dwarves.

I agree that it is one of the stranger happenings on La Palma but it is made all the more crazy by the dotty little dance, giant sized hats and face masks which hide their true identity (although you could probably guess that if you saw a dwarf in his civvies they would be of the special La Palma dancing variety.)  The dwarves perform six times during the evening, 7 pm, 8pm, 10pm, 11pm, 12pm and 1am and then, by way of a marathon encore, dance their way right along the length of the main street.

When we arrived at 7 pm, courtesy of one of the many coaches laid on from all points of the island, the queues to see the spectacle were enormous – and these people already had tickets which are a sell-out way in advance - they were just eager to get a 'good' seat. 

We were further amazed to see people already lining the main street where they had installed themselves either by sitting on the pavement reading a book, playing cards or chatting. Or better still, on little stools, cool box at the ready.  These people – incredibly - were waiting for the dwarves who would not appear on the street until some point after 1am.  A six hour wait is well beyond my comprehension but it is a reflection of the passion felt for the event.

So, being ticketless, we took up our place at one of the many vantage points and even being pretty far away, you still got the happy feeling that dancing dwarves give you.  

Of course, other than the dwarves, there was plenty else to see and do. Belly dancers were performing in the road. A fun fair in the car park. Shops open where you can buy, amongst other things, dwarf memorabilia. Impromptu guitar playing in bars. Eating, drinking and people watching from the pavement restaurants. An open-air nightclub overlooking the sea. And a band with huge stage for the middle of the night when the dwarves have disappeared back up to the mountains.

At 12.30 am we jumped into a coach to head for the hills ourselves. We were pretty much dwarf-ed out by then but not so other people who were waiting at the bus stop in Los Sauces at 1am for the bus that would take them down to the capital.  But for the next time – in five years – we are going to be there for the long haul. 

Gosh, I'm excited already.