The massive event was broadcast live on Televisión Canaria and La 2 de TVE in the Canary Islands.
115 floats paraded through the heart of Playa del Inglés, surrounded by tourists and residents who came in costume to have a good time.
“Freedom doesn't need wings, it needs roots” is a quote from Mexican writer and Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Octavio Paz. This phrase perfectly defines what happened on Saturday afternoon in the heart of Playa del Inglés. The Maspalomas International Carnival has taken root and is now celebrating its fifty-first edition. The event, inspired this year by “Amor à la Mexicana,” highlights all of Maspalomas' virtues as a top tourist destination: the good weather, the peaceful coexistence of different cultures, and the individual freedom that allows people to freely express their identity in a safe environment.
This was certainly felt by the tourists who couldn't stop photographing the most original costumes while watching 370.000 people, from all over the world, gather in Playa del Inglés with the sole purpose of having a good time. The procession included the participation of the royal courts of the four major galas of this carnival: the Adult Queen, the Grand Lady, the Child Queen, and the winning Drag Queen. From the beginning, the rhythm was provided by the batucada groups "Piratas del Caribe" and "Paixão"; the color was provided by the comparsas Cayó Mambí and Nuevo Estilo; while the humor was provided by the people on the street with their ingenious costumes, to name a few, "the painter" who began to put a coat of fake paint on the road, the Pope who blessed the attendees, the fake television reporter or the well-known Cantinflas with 40 years of carnivals behind him, in addition to the thousands of costumes linked to this year's Mexican theme.
Regarding the 115 floats, the most important of these is the "We Paradise without barriers, Mexico," which allows for the participation of people with reduced mobility. Also noteworthy is the participation of one of the vehicles leading the Grand Parade, the Citroën Condesa driven by José Medina from Aruba, who has been part of this festival for 28 years.
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Float number 61, "Sabor a la mexicana," won first prize from the jury, while float number 69, "Ándale, compadre," and float number 80, "La Jungla," received second and third prizes, respectively.
The Mayor, Marco Aurelio Pérez; the First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal; and the Councilor for Tourism, Events, and Celebrations, Yilenia Vega, among other council members, were present at the start of the procession. The event also included extensive security and cleaning services. "Mexican love" was very present in the streets of Maspalomas and will continue to be so until at least this Sunday, when the sardine will be burned at Playa del Inglés and we begin counting down the days until the next carnival.
