Las Palmas stumbles upon its own carnival: Maluma, UD risking its neck, and a chaotic schedule.

 

 

 

 

If there's one thing that characterizes Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council, it's its innate talent for organizing things... badly. The capital's latest stroke of genius has been scheduling the highlight of its Carnival, a Maluma concert, on the same day that UD Las Palmas plays its life in a key match against Alavés.

 

The result? A head-on collision of football and partying that will almost certainly bring the city to a standstill; even more so considering the complaints the local police have made to the city council about the lack of officers during the carnival celebrations.

 

The concert, which will cost almost a million euros, will be held in Santa Catalina Park, blocking traffic and closing off a dozen streets in the capital from 14:00 p.m., further complicating mobility in the capital, which is already difficult due to the daily bottlenecks that form with school and workplace dismissals.

 

While the capital tries to string together two days of Carnival celebrations without controversy (the latest being an accusation of plagiarism of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony), things are done differently in the south of the island. Maspalomas, with its newly awarded title of Festival of National Tourist Interest, has shown that it's possible to organize a Carnival without any major issues.

 

Maspalomas doesn't need plagiarism or to keep the festival moving every year based on complaints and lawsuits; a formula that seems to work, as it remains an international landmark without the need for multi-million-dollar concerts that create more problems than they solve.  

 

When will Las Palmas learn to plan without its Carnival clashing with the daily life of its own city? With unruly neighbors and a traveling carnival that in recent years has resembled a mobile fair that travels from street to street, perhaps next year will be the year the capital will understand that a well-organized event isn't the one that makes the most noise or the one that spends the most money, but the one that best fits the demands of the people.