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 of Spain. The event is celebrated every year in the month of February in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Events

The events include the Gala of the Queen and the Gala of the Drag Queen. The main

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

or Cavalcade 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-largest ...

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 and to use the same model of retransmission of Tenerife.

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 and a television show in which the main event is a

pageant Pageant may refer to: * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * Latter Day Saint plays and pageants, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or by members local to the area of the pageant * ...

of drag queens, enlivened with other performances of singers and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

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 limitation or sexual orientation, although the participants are mostly gay men. The pageant is broadcast by the Spanish national public channel RTVE.

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