- Oscars. La Palma lighthouse where Brad Pitt or Renée Zellweger could sleep
- Record: Fastest flight in history: New York-London in less than five hours
The links between Isla Bonita and Cuba date back to the sixteenth century, but it was especially during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when they were consolidated. In 1900, seven vapors left for Cuba from here, while with Tenerife there were four connections and only one peninsula. It was natural that the palm farmers knew only their town, their island and Cuba, dying without ever having stepped on the rest of the archipelago.
The maximum aspiration of all these emigrants, who soon became known as Indians , was to return to La Palma, rich and successful. Some achieved their goal, many others did not. But since the mid-twentieth century began to parody this triumphant and almost always ostentatious return home after making the Americas. A custom that has been integrated into the Carnival and that is celebrated by dressing in rigorous white, preferably with period costumes and shamelessly showing proof of their wealth.
Anyone who decides to join the party should wear the appropriate clothing, including hat, bow tie, umbrella, fan, lots of jewelry and bills in abundance. The cigar, also recommended, can be obtained already on the island, but always with the seal of the Breña Alta.
On the origin of the battle of talcum powder there are several theories. The one that has more followers is the one that relates it to the inherited custom of the Cuban ñáñigos rituals of whitening the skin, which since the 17th century the settlers adopted to dust themselves on Carnival Monday.
THE BLACK TOMASA
It all starts with the Waiting ceremony . From ten in the morning the beautiful Calle Real, with its typical colonial air houses, and also the Plaza de la Alameda and Avenida Marítima are filled with Cuban sounds and rhythms. The most enthusiastic can not resist the wait and approach the port to receive, as it deserves, the Black Tomasa. He is the most emblematic character of the Indians of La Palma. It comes from a song by the Cuban Guillermo Rodríguez Rife and embodies it, since 1992, the incomparable Sosó (Víctor Díaz Molina).
His thunderous appearance before the crowd on the steps of the church of San Salvador marks the official beginning of the party, at which time madness and a cloud of talc takes over the center of Santa Cruz to the rhythm of the conga Sangre Indiana , anthem Unofficial of the Indians. As of that moment, it no longer stops the music by all the urban center. The "Guajira, guantanamera ..." is heard a lot and the opportunities to try mojitos , guarapo (sugar cane juice), fritters, honey soups and much rum produced on the island are multiplied.
In the middle of the afternoon, when it seems that the forces begin to falter, the Great Parade of the Indians takes place, the apotheosis of this great show where at the rhythm of Celia Cruz singing her classic Life is a carnival , the thousands of participants jump through the air wrapped in an avalanche of white dust.
Much more than fun
But the Carnival of Santa Cruz de La Palma does not begin, nor end, this glorious Monday. Who can afford to arrive a few days before will find the fun Wig Party, with the colorful parade of Ambassadors and Parrandas as well as the arrival of the Indianitos and the music of the Orillas del Son Festival. And then, as expected, the murga continues until the Burial of the Sardine.
All this with the Isla Bonita as a backdrop. A vertiginous scenario, beautiful, but virtually unattainable. The island of La Palma barely exceeds 700 km2 but its orography is so complex, sinuous and rugged that it is impossible to explore it in its entirety. Therefore, a good way to look at its wonders is to first approach two of its most charismatic viewpoints. The one of the Cumbrecita, that allows to obtain a panoramic view of the National Park of the Caldera de Taburiente -one of the great protagonists of this island-; and that of Tosca, which overlooks the Windward coast in the north, a very different landscape, full of dragoons.
Then, you have to explore its natural parks. Perhaps starting with the one of Cumbre Vieja , which occupies the oldest part of La Palma and that extends towards its southern slope. As if it were a snake, there are different volcanoes that give the visitor a history of volcanism, eruptions and a past full of energy.
Then comes the time to be ecstatic in the Natural Park of the Snows, even more spectacular and above all much more diverse. There you have to make a small route through Los Tilos, one of the most important laurel forests in the Canary archipelago. An ecosystem inherited from the tertiary era that became, in its day, the first Biosphere Reserve on the island. The most recommended and affordable walk is the eleven-kilometer circular path that surrounds the Cubo de la Galga. Although if you are looking for a much more intense experience, nothing better than to look for the Nascent of Marcos and Cordero, through thirteen chilling tunnels carved by hand following the channel that was used to drive the water.
Another must-see is to climb the Roque de los Muchachos , at 2,420 meters of altitude, where astronomy and nature shake hands and from where the famous sea of clouds that condenses between 600 and 1,800 meters of altitude is contemplated. And from where, if you are lucky, you also get stunning views of that Taburiente National Park that deserves a trip by itself. On the other hand, this point of the island is the perfect place from which to discover one of the cleanest and most amazing skies on the planet. Although not the only one. Through companies like Cielos La Palma you can live with different degrees of intensity the most starry night of the Canary Islands. They give the opportunity to camp in absolutely unusual places but also to begin in an original way in the world of constellations.
Coves and natural pools
Nor should we forget its coast, where there are many secret coves, natural pools such as Fajana and Charco Azul , in the remote northeast. Or wonders of nature like the Candelaria , a small town framed in a sea inlet that has formed a great cavity of overwhelming dimensions full of mysterious caves.
Thanks to the privileged climate of the Canary Islands, you can come to the island of La Palma at any time of the year and, who can not do it in February, has an extraordinary appointment in early August, when the solemn Descent of the Virgin of the Snow from its sanctuary to the capital, a very special event since it only takes place every five years.
Practical Guide
How to get
Iberia Express offers direct flights to La Palma from Madrid.
Where to sleep
In the Parador de La Palma, with magnificent views and surrounded by magnificent gardens. Or at the Hotel Hacienda de Abajo, in Tazacorte and the first emblematic hotel in the Canary Islands.
Where to eat
In Enriclai (Phone: 680 20 32 90. Santa Cruz) or in the Duende del Fuego (Los Llanos).
More information
On the web www.visitlapalma.es and, for activities related to astrotourism, in Cielos La Palma.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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