News May 2012

Mueca 2012 - International Street Art Festival, May 11th - 13th

Mueca returns! After a break of two years the International Street Art Festival takes place in Puerto de la Cruz. At Mueca, which means grimace, artists in the fields of theatre, dance, comedy and music appear in public and pedestrian areas.
During these days Puerto de la Cruz becomes one big stage where people can visit theatre productions, concerts and workshops.

Rock Coast Festival

From May 24th to 26th, the Rock Coast Festival will be held for the first time in Santa Cruz. Up to now more than 200,000 tickets have been sold for this unique event. On two stages international groups and more than 40 Canarian bands, predominantly from the Pop, Rock, Electro and Rap genre, will perform a breathtaking show for the spectators.

See below for the fantastic line-up on the main stage:

• On Thursday: Iggy and the Stooges, Marilyn Manson, The Smashing Pumpkins, Marea, This Drama, Evanescence.
• On Friday: Fatboy Slim, Orbital, Ministry of Sound, Rolling Hackers.
• On Saturday: Sepultura, Ben Harper, Muchachito Bombo Infierno, The Monos.

In addition to the musical highlights, the Rock Coast Festival provides many attractions around the festival site. There is a F1 Simulator, you can take on your friends or other teams in a paintball arena or head down an artificial ski run. Meanwhile the promoter of the Rock Coast Festival has announced that the TV channel MTV will broadcast the festival.

One ticket for Thursday (24th) and Saturday (26th) costs €60.00 and for Friday (25th) €50.00. A 3 day ticket costs €120.00 (limited to 5,000 places).
For more information go to the official web-page.

GastroCanarias 2012 takes place in Puerto de la Cruz

From May 3rd to 6th, the international catering trade fair “GastroCanarias” takes place in Puerto de la Cruz. Venues for the event will be, among others, the Jardín Botánico. Lago Martiánez and the Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos - Calle Quintana 18.
On these 4 days many national and international culinary stars, for example the Michelin starred chef Rodrigo de la Calle, will showcase their skills.
Beside lectures and professional talks about the catering trade visitors can participate in show-cooking, tastings and cookery courses.

Our surf course, as popular as ever!

As a language student in the FU International Academy you have the chance to learn the basics of surfing every Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The course is held on the Playa Martiánez, the most popular surf beach in Puerto de la Cruz. At the beginning of each surf session you will receive some instruction from a pro and after that you can practice on the waves.
If you are keen to be a real surfer we offer a Spanish course in association with daily surf lessons. The classes are in the morning so you can ride the waves 5 afternoons a week.

Photography exhibition by American Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry is one of the most famous photojournalists in the world. He covered international conflicts, including the Iran-Iraq war, the Tibet conflict, Cambodia, and the Gulf War.

You can visit an exhibition of his works from the last 27 years at the CajaCanarias head office in Santa Cruz (Plaza del Patriotismo 1).

Besides urban and landscape photographs the pictures show war and conflict zones and portraits of people from all over the world. His most well-known portrait is called the “Afghan Girl”. He took this photo of an Afghan orphan in a refugee camp near in Pakistan during the Soviet war in Afghanistan in 1984.

Free admission for students, residents over 65 years and clients of the CajaCanarias. Non-residents: 5 Euro. Residents: 2 Euro.

Romería y Baile de Magos de Los Realejos – Fiesta and local folk dance

The Canarian people really love to keep their folkloric traditions alive. In the Romerías (processions), the people from the area dress in their elaborate embroidered costumes, dance to the live music and eat Canarian food.
In Los Realejos the Romería Chica, little Romeria, is celebrated on Tuesday May 15th and the larger Romería dedicated to San Isidro is celebrated on Sunday 27th.

Another colourful event is the local dances or Bailes de magos. The band is made up a large number of musicians playing a variety of guitars and timples, which are very small guitars typical of the Canary Islands. The word magos is exclusive to the Canary Islands and means a country person or peasant. Most districts on the island hold these open air dances, but be warned, if you are not wearing the traditional costume you may not get into the dance! Most towns have a costume hire shop - look for the sign alquiler de trajes.

In May these dances are held in Adeje and in the capital city, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The Paseo Romero is on outdoor festival with dancing which usually takes place on the Sunday following the Day of the Cross (see below).

The most famous dance is in the town of La Orotava, in June. In fact it features in the Guinness Book of Records as it is the largest collection of people wearing traditional costumes in the world – a big achievement for a small island.

When? The dates of the festival celebration change every year so it is best check the website www.webtenerife.com or call the tourist office between 09.00 and 19.00 to be sure of getting the right day. Tel no: 0034 902 00 331 21 (Spanish, English and German spoken).

May starts with the “Fiestas de las Cruces”

The Fiestas de la Cruz or the Holy Cross, takes place every year on May 3rd. During this three hundred year old tradition all the churches, chapels and crosses are decorated with the most spectacular flowers arrangements, a real feast for the eyes.
In Los Realejos there is the ever popular annual firework competition between two streets Medio de Arriba and Del Sol in the town. The rivalry between these two streets makes this three-hour firework show the most spectacular in the Canary Islands. If you don’t mind the noise you can walk around the streets but the display can been seen for miles around so find yourself a vantage point, sit back and enjoy the show.