Three incredible disappearances have shaken the town of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. Luxury beds vanish, a scepter lost just before the Carnival queen was crowned, and a work of art whose whereabouts are unknown. Maspalomas, the tourist capital of southern Gran Canaria, seems to be experiencing a comedy of errors in broad daylight.
The famous €2.000 Balinese beds that never reached the sand of Maspalomas have disappeared without a trace, without security cameras, without an official inventory, and without convincing answers. The public denunciation of their disappearance may seem like a gesture of institutional responsibility, but it is also interpreted as a low blow to those who now manage the municipality, including former government colleagues. Meanwhile, San Bartolomé de Tirajana continues to lose resources and direction in the midst of the battle to recover its tourist excellence.
"The famous detective Scherlot Holmes He ran his magnifying glass over the sand of Maspalomas, without finding a single trace of the famous Balinese beds. “Curious,” he murmured, “not even the sun remembers having seen them.” After reviewing invoices with the aroma of institutional dampness and nearby cameras that happened to be looking the other way, he concluded ironically: “Ten citizens rest like kings while the municipality sleeps in ruins.”
And if that weren't enough, even art vanishes in Maspalomas. The renowned Gran Canarian artist Pepe Dámaso has reported the disappearance of one of his works, which was loaned to the Regional Folklore Festival in 2023 and never reappeared. Although it was initially scheduled to be exhibited at the presentation event at the Maspalomas Lighthouse, it ended up packed away and, since then, has disappeared in action. Has it reappeared without anyone informing the public?
And as the icing on the cake, the Maspalomas International Carnival scepter also decided to play hide-and-seek. Valued at over 12.000 euros, the scepter that the new Carnival queen was supposed to hold in March 2024 temporarily disappeared, sparking nerves and running around the halls of the town hall. Luckily, the object was found in time, although the organizing team can't shake the scare.
