2018 - Magic and Fantastical Creatures

A huge dragon protected the carnival dedicated to magic and fantastical creatures.

The creation by Francesco Faggiano from Isleta Design Studio revolves around a huge dragon guarding the city. Its powerful combination of colours and the unique view of the city from a Cubist stance made the selected poster stand out from the fourteen submitted by professionals and companies in the graphic design sector.

The scenery was inspired by steampunk and reproduced a Victorian mansion hiding mysterious spaces full of references to the icons of stories about enchantments and witchcraft.

Fans of the festival found key elements of a Victorian style in the sets: cluttered spaces, an accumulation of classic accessories, damask fabrics and a colour palette that played with gold, burgundy, blue and violet.

The Magic and Fantastical Creatures Carnival burst onto the street with carnival pride. The stand-up comedian Kike Pérez acted as the pregonero to welcome the festival with an opening speech that was friendly, smattered with humour and references to the carnival, and some criticism of bigots. He remembered anecdotes from his childhood and youth and also championed the carnival as a sign of identity: “I’m not just proud of the carnival because I’m proud to be a Canary Islander too, from a small town in the middle of the Atlantic spreading its idiosyncrasy worldwide with no complexes, no strings and no excuses”.

Ana Suárez Álvarez was crowned the Queen of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival 2018, wearing a fantasy costume called “A mi manera" (My Way) designed by Josué Quevedo, representing La Caja Fría and La Provincia.

La Tullida was proclaimed Drag Queen of the Magic and Fantastical Creatures Carnival with her metamorphosis from Massiel to Salomé and then to the “Rose of Spain” in a short trip down memory lane of Spain’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The show “¡Ay, Fefa! Que los doce puntos son para... (Hey, Fefa! The 12 Points Are for...) representing Ron La Indiana, with costumes by Adrián Castellano and Antonio Ceballos, was a hit with the audience who gave it the top score, as did two panels of judges.

María Suárez Suárez, the candidate representing El Kilo de San Gregorio, was named the Grand Dame of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival 2018. She took part on the stage with the design “De mi cuento de hada salí y al Carnaval de Las Palmas quise venir" (Out of My Fairy Tale I Came and to Las Palmas Carnival I Wished to Go), which she created herself together with Antonio Cruz, who is also a designer.

The young Jennifer de Filippis Monforte became the ruler of children at the age of just six. The new queen wore the fantasy costume “Te cuento mi cuento... ¡A mi manera!" (I’ll Tell You My Tale... My Way!), created by Rafael Déniz García for Children’s y Restaurant, Ballet Silvia Barrera and Liky Liky Ice-Cream Parlour.

The members of Los Serenquenquenes took the sought-after first prize for performance to their hometown of Agüimes to add to their collection, which now totals 14. They also won the first prize for performance at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival in 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The prize for the best lyrics went to Tomás Pérez for his song “Un local con mucho ambiente" (A Place with a Great Ambience).

The judges gave the second prize in the category to Los Nietos de Sary Mánchez, one of the favourite groups, who accepted the award happily and sportingly after winning first place in 2017. Los de Telde received their third consecutive critics prize from the media (they also won it in 2016 and 2017) for the subject “La evolución" (Evolution), as well as third prize for costume. Los Trapasones were super excited when their third prize for performance was announced.

The costume prizes went to Las Despistadas (first), Los Twittys (second) and Los Nietos de Sary Mánchez (third).

For the second year running, Kisamba, the very young comparsa from Arenales district, won first prize for performance and costume at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival. Their show “Huele a Carnaval" (It Smells of Carnival) was chosen by the judges for both categories in the competition. This is fantastic recognition for the 36 members of the comparsa and their choreographer, Laura Torres and costume designer, Juan Fernando Henríquez.

The boys and girls in the comparsa Diamantes, with the design “Tropidiamonds” and the show “Un millon de sueños" (A Million Dreams), won the first prize for performance and the third for costume in the children’s competition.

Chiramay found themselves at the top of the podium for costume with the design “La estrella del río" (The River Star).

Josué Saavedra, creator of the work “Tambora”, showcased by Ronia Alvarado, representing MSB Arquitectos, was proclaimed the winner of the body painting competition of the Magic and Fantastical Creatures Carnival, a fitting end to an intense Tuesday in the surroundings of Santa Catalina Park.

Ana Pilar Suárez Quevedo, wearing the fantasy costume “Dalí, 100 años de historia" (Dalí, 100 Years of History), designed by Josué Quevedo Reyes, in the individual category, and the 43 members of Amanecer Rociero, in the fantasy costume “Mágica fantasía... al amanecer" (Magic Fantasy... till Dawn), by Josefa de la Virgen Blanco Araujo and Mª Pilar López Jurado, in the group category, were the winners of this competition highlighting fun and participation.

The kingdom of magic and fantastical creatures added new pets to their court. The winners of the competition’s first prize were Vichy and Dollar, two toy poodles presented by the Svensson family, who also won the third prize.

Felicia Svensson presented the winning duo, Vichy and Dollar, with the design “Todo lo que soñé" (Everything I Dreamed), which was awarded 30 kilos of Affinity Advance dog food.