A carnival written in women’s terms: queens, witches and female performers

Lanzarote boasts one of the most expressive and stereotype-free carnivals. Women share their reign with drag queens, write the lyrics for their murgas (traditional carnival songs) and design the fantastic worlds of the carnival groups. The most fun and diverse party on the planet is coming to the Different Island.

No more stereotypes!

In Lanzarote, the queen of Carnival has been sharing her throne for decades with her fellow drag queens. Who feels like a queen? Raise your hand, anyone who wants to, we welcome everyone here! If Carnival is, by definition, the empire of transgression, then Arrecife’s carnival was transgressive before anywhere else. The festivities sponsored by César Manrique in El Almacén  the island’s cultural centre (now a centre for innovation and creation) created a spirit of freedom and coexistence that can still be felt in this tolerant and friendly carnival.

The Drag Gala is a unique show, a concept born in the Canary Islands that has become famous all over the world. In Arrecife we will choose our queen on Thursday 27th February. If you want to know more details, you can consult the City Council of Arrecife’s website.

Women with sharp tongues

It’s difficult to believe that forty years ago, the arrival of Las Revoltosas in the island’s murguero universe was a scandal: women taking up the voice of society with bold and irreverent lyrics! Mothers and wives making time in their domestic schedules to rehearse at least twice a week! Empowered women, protagonists of the carnival! The history of the legendary women’s murga group of San Bartolomé is also the history of the opening up of Lanzarote society. The island is today a paradigm of sustainability, not only for its ecological values, but also for its integration and social inclusion

The book Las Revoltosas, ¿pero ustedes están locas? by María José Tabar, narrates the odyssey of these pioneers who, standing up to the archaic conventions, initiated a new era in the celebration of Lanzarote’s carnival. The Revoltosas no longer compete – because they have won every possible prize – but they continue to parade their sovereignty in every contest and have opened a pathway for new groups (don’t miss this year’s Faltonas, Inadaptadas, Enraladas and Vacilonas).

The best way to experience the Lanzarote carnival from the inside is to join the audience for the adult murgas competition events. The performances will be on 24 and 25 February and the grand finale with awards ceremony on Friday, 28 February. Don’t miss it!

A safe celebration for all

Among the great attractions of the Arrecife Carnival is its peaceful atmosphere and its size, which is proportionate to the size of the city. These characteristics make it an absolutely safe experience for participants. In Lanzarote we are supported by our own natural way of being, open to everyone and to any situation, be it work, social or festive. We show our love of freedom and respect and have healthy fun together with our visitors.

If you visit as a group of women, you will feel more than comfortable at every party, parade or mass event. You’ll always find suitable violet and orange points, run by professionals. If you’re a night owl, you’ll enjoy the vibrant street parties (the late-night orchestras and live music in the squares and corners of the city are one of the highlights of our carnival celebrations).

Showcasing sisterhood

Yes! The Lanzarote Carnival is also a perfect event to showcase the unity and support between the female professionals of the sector: from the women artists who take to the stages of the festival to the women organisers of the events; from the seamstresses who spend hours making prodigious fantasy worlds and costumes, to the female designers who have devised them; from the female lyricists who wield their pen giving a thousand twists to the island’s reality to the murgueras whose voices bring these expressions to life. The Island is proud to demonstrate the concepts of equality and inclusion with concrete actions. The movement is demonstrated by walking!

So much so that, for two editions now, our Queen of the festivities has also been chosen from among the most veteran, the candidates for Sovereign of the Carnival. This year the proclamation is in charge of the Carnival of Arrecife groups, so we strongly recommend that you go to the announcement, on February 21st at the Agramar Fairgrounds. It will be the opportunity to meet the adult and children’s murgas, the comparsas, the batucadas and the drag queens, without forgetting the icons of the traditional carnival and the carrocero collective.

Mother and carnival goer

For mothers with little ones, one of the best experiences at Carnival is sharing the party with their offspring. In Arrecife, a welcoming and family-friendly city by nature, it’s very easy to create unforgettable memories in the children’s parade, the costume contest, the mask workshops, the shows and storytelling and the street parties especially for the little ones… If you’re planning to spend this Carnival with your family, you are in luck because this year Arrecife has chosen the allegory World of Fantasy. Can you think of a better theme for the youngest members of the public? Princesses, warriors, ogres, wizards, fantasy animals…, the source of inspiration for fancy dress is almost endless.

Responsible mascarita

Time for a  recap: on these dates full of colour, joy, disinhibition and diversity, we’re inviting you to live the party to the fullest in Arrecife. To do so, follow these tips to the letter:

• Choose your dates. The Arrecife Carnival begins on 21 February – with two highlights, the opening speech and the drag queen gala – and ends on 5 March, with the burial of the sardine. Between these two dates there is a full calendar of unmissable events, such as the final of the murgas competition (28 February) or the impressive parade of floats, which here we call the coso.
• Stay in the capital. Carnival is a local cultural event that must be experienced on the ground. Avoid travelling and look for accommodation in one of the city’s magnificent hotels. Some even offer panoramic views that will give you a bird’s eye view of the festival.
• Take care of the environment. Remember, we are a Biosphere Reserve. In Lanzarote we practice, almost instinctively, the circular economy. Follow the local trends and consume responsibly, try to walk or cycle around the city, avoid littering the streets or the sea… In short, interact in a healthy way with this friendly festive environment.

This is Lanzarote. This is your Carnival, welcome, mascarita!