What is it?
The Casa del Carnaval is an interpretation centre for the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival. It is a space that was designed to showcase the carnival, a place for exhibitions and for visitors to learn about the heritage of this annual event, which has been declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest. With its 1,052 m2 of floor space, it aims to make the carnival more accessible to tourists, to provide a space for exhibition, conservation and learning, and a meeting place for the various carnival groups. “Serpentinas y Confetis” (“Streamers and Confetti”) was the title of the project chosen by the City Council when they put out a tender for this centre. It is a space that will put on display all the elements and qualities that make the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival unique, and will become a tool for promoting tourism in Tenerife’s capital city.
The Centre
The Casa del Carnaval is designed for four target groups: tourists, the carnival community, specialists and researchers, and the general public. Inside, there is a permanent exhibition: an attractive, enjoyable space designed to appeal to the senses. Its flexible layout will accommodate various types of collections and content, document archives and multimedia resources. The exhibition space will vary from one year to the next to display the costume of the current Carnival Queen as well as the costumes worn that year by the performers (adult and child murgas, music groups, dance troupes, etc.). The costume of the current Carnival Queen is the centrepiece that will greet visitors as they enter the building. Visible from the outside, it will draw visitors into the exhibition, a sensory space with a colourful lighting scheme and the sounds of the carnival. The colourful “streamers” occupy the centre of the room and contain eight independent modules with multilingual screens that describe the different aspects of the carnival. Visitors will also be able to admire various different carnival posters, a videowall showing carnival-themed videos, and showcases displaying the most iconic costumes and objects of the carnival. The next room is an interactive educational space, in which visitors and schoolchildren will be able to try on costumes, masks and wigs, and play the musical instruments, giving them a hands-on experience of the carnival. The Casa del Carnaval also has a Multipurpose Room for temporary exhibitions, conferences, book presentations, talks or seminars, as well as a shop, a cafeteria and an area for workshops and various activities aimed at teaching both schoolchildren and adults about the arts and crafts of the carnival.
Interactive Carnival
The Casa del Carnaval is equipped with the latest technology to keep visitors entertained and immerse them fully in the island’s most famous fiesta. There are different interactive spaces and several touchscreens that give a 360 degree virtual tour of the most important events of the carnival, such as the song and dance contests, the Burial of the Sardine or the Day Carnival. Visitors will also be able to immerse themselves in the contests, the performances of the murgas and comparsas, the rehearsals of the carnival groups or even the famous street parties, using the augmented reality 3D glasses that will be available to all users.
Documentation and Research
The Casa del Carnaval also hosts the Centre for the Documentation and Research of the Heritage of the Santa Cruz Carnival. This centre is aimed at experts, journalists, students and researchers, and will be a permanent catalogue of documents and audiovisual material, bringing them all together under one roof and providing a tool for research. It will thus safeguard the historical, artistic and intangible legacy of the Santa Cruz Carnival.
Location, opening hours and price:
The Casa del Carnaval is located in the Barranco de Santos park, next to Galcerán bridge, on calle Aguere. The Casa del Carnaval can be visited Monday to Sunday, from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm. For further information please contact:. [email protected]
