Carnivals have been an important part of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for over five centuries and it’s one of the most celebrated festivals of all time. Carnaval Las Palmas is one of the main tourist attractions of Gran Canaria island and people from all over the world come to celebrate the festivities.
This year the carnival is celebrated from 10th of February to 5th of March and this year’s theme is the “Eternal Spring”. It’s all about Flower Power, 60’s & ’70s, hippies, peace, and love.
Over the 24 days, the carnival is celebrated, there are more than 35 official events and activities, but every neighborhood also celebrates its own carnival, so there are hundreds of activities going on during the Carnaval Las Palmas. What I really like about the Las Palmas carnival is that it’s for everyone! No matter your age, disability, gender, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity – everyone is welcome to celebrate! The carnival also celebrates Canine Carnivals, so really, everyone is welcome!
While there are a lot of activities going on, I’d say that there are 5 main events – Drag Queen Gala, Queen Gala, Junior Queen Gala, Murgas Contest, and the Sardine’s Funeral.
Drag Queen Gala
This year the Drag Queen Gala celebrates its 20th birthday and the event is one of the carnival’s most high-profile events and was a trending topic on social media all over the world. All the drags wear super high platforms and it’s amazing what they can do! I think I wouldn’t be able to walk in them, not to talk about climbing stairs or doing cartwheels. The drags show a lot of skin, they lack inhibition and audacity which makes the Drag Queen Gala one of a kind.
This year’s Carnaval Las Palmas Drag Queen is Drag Sethlas. He was in a Virgin Mary costume and during his show, he also appeared as crucified Jesus. The actuation has caused a lot of controversies. Below you’ll see a video of his show, you are welcome to let us know what you think about his appearance in the comments.
Queen Gala
While the Drag Queen Gala is all about controversy and provocation, Queen Gala is about amazing costumes, and elegance and is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the carnival. All the queen candidates are sponsored by a local company and the outfits are designed by renowned creators. Usually, the outfits are later exhibited in different shopping centers, so you can see firsthand how amazing all the costumes are.
Junior Queen Gala
Carnaval Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival is a really child-friendly carnival, as it has an extensive children’s program. From neighborhood festivities and dance troupe shows to the Junior Queen Gala, kids are involved in a lot of aspects of the carnival. We usually watch all the galas on TV and then a couple of days later join all the people in the streets for the Children’s Parade.
The Children’s Parade is all about kids, families, music, and a lot of fun! Check out the images below!
Junior Queen 2017
Ours doesn’t celebrate any carnivals. Around here it’s all about the state and county fairs – those are what everyone looks forward to attending!
We don’t have any carnivals but this looks like so much fun! We just have state fairs and a few small towns have “days” like Papillion Days in the town Papillion and Millard Days in Millard which are rides and games and food like a mini amusement park for fun and to celebrate the town/city it’s being held in. The pictures you posted are great and looks colorful and very fun!
This sounds like quite an event! Thanks for sharing and all the beautiful pictures!
I don’t think we have any carnivals here in our town, but they would fun to attend if they did. A drag queen dressing up as Jesus being crucified is not something I would go watch though.
We celebrated something similar to this when I was a kid in Spain. It was so much fun to dress up.
I absolutely love carnivals. This looks like so fun. Must plan next!!