The big fiestas include Los Indianos when everybody wears white and has literally thousands of people flocking to the island. The Bajada of course, when the Virgin Mary is brought down from the Las Nieves Sanctuary, is another huge one. Then there is the fiesta with the Dancing Dwarfs held every 5 years. Massive. Then the rather gentler but also popular farming fiestas such as at San Antonio and San Isidro. And the bizarre Funeral of the Sardine (hey, that can be a sad thing) and a whole lot more of inventive ideas to get together and celebrate.
Easter of course is another story and this year, the Wednesday before Easter during the Semana Santa, we were lucky enough to see the procession of El Santo Encuentro through the streets of Santa Cruz.
It was a big procession with
around 100 participants representing various scenes, plus I think 3 different
musical bands - we dodged about quite a bit, heading off into the side streets in order to get ahead of the procession and see any parts we might have missed so we rather lost track of the numbers.
Probably one of the more surprising aspects of the procession is
the use of the 'capirote' which is the hood with conical top, often more
associated with the Ku Klux Clan. However, the capirote along with the
'nazareno' (penitential robe) is used to hide the face of the wearer for a much more innocent reason in Spain. These types of robes
have been used since the medieval period for penitents who could demonstrate
their penance while still masking their identity. You can make your own mind up on that one!
* It might be worth noting that in Spain and the Canary Islands, Jueves Santo (Maundy Thursday) and Viernes Santo (Good Friday) are observed as Fiestas Laborales (Public Holidays), whilst Easter Monday is not.
