8-2-08 Noche de la Salsa con Óscar de León

The Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is one of the most famous

carnivals Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The event is celebrated every year in the month of February in

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

Events

The events include the Gala of the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and the Gala of the

Drag Queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

. The main Parade or

Cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass trail ride by a company of riders. The focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display. Often, the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. Often, a cava ...

is viewed by 200,000 people every year along a six kilometer route that runs through the city.

Controversy

The Carnival of Las Palmas has been involved in polemic several times. In the past there was certain controversy because a band named ''Los Indianos'' coming from the town of

Santa Cruz de La Palma Santa Cruz de la Palma (Spanish for ''Holy Cross of La Palma'') is a city and a municipality on the east coast of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second-large ...

wanted to join the Carnival of Las Palmas, or joining the Carnival of Las Palmas of so-called "''Carnaval de Día''" which belongs to

Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife ( es, Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife}) is held each February in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the largest island of the Canary Islands, Spain and attracts people from all over the world. It i ...

and to use the same model of retransmission of

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

Gala of the Drag Queen

The Gala of the Drag Queen is an event of the Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It consists of a

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

and a

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

in which the main event is a pageant of drag queens, enlivened with other performances of

singers Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and dance numbers. The carnivals of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria included this show for the first time in 1998, and with the passage of time, it has become one of the most popular events of the festivities. In the drag queens contest, the artistic talent, the dance, and the interpretation of a musical number are valued. The contest participants act three minutes over the stage of the Santa Catalina Park. Days before the Gala a pre-selection is held in which the best candidates are chosen to perform at the Gala. In the contest rules there is no

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

limitation or

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

, although the participants are mostly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

. The pageant is broadcast by the Spanish national public channel

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

References

External links

Official Web of the Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
* http://www.grancanaria.com/patronato_turismo/Carnaval-de-Las-Palmas-de-Gran-Canaria-Tickets.52333.0.html Tourist attractions in Las Palmas Carnivals in Spain {{Festival-stub