The Tenerife Carnival is world famous for its glitz, glamour, attendance, Carnival Queen, and murgas. Everyone hears that word but not all know what it means. Murga literally translates as “street band” and every year hundreds of groups take part in the carnival and compete musically and for the best costumes.
However, this year one junior group from the south of Tenerife, have taken carnival by storm after appearing at all the carnival queen elections, the murga competitions, and the parades. The group is called Infantil Los Retordicitos, all its members are aged from 4-17 years old, and they are best kept secret in the south being based in Granadilla.
Murgas, both infantil and adult are a key part of the carnival and each year they depict the theme of the event, with one member writing the bands music, another the words, a third the choreography, and then another designing the costumes and volunteers make them, which can cost several thousand euros.
This year, the Carnival theme was New York, and the group went above and beyond to create amazing “Yellow Cab” costumes with moving parts, lights, and sound effects, that stole the show and were one of the most photographed costumes of the whole event.
Infantil Los Retordicitos was formed in 2009 by Fran Conde and two female assistants, after being involved in other murgas at the carnival since the age of 5. It was created as a pure labour of love to give children of all ages and nationalities the chance to be involved in something unique and experience the carnival from a performer's perspective.
They have competed in Santa Cruz 11 times, as activities were suspended during the pandemic, and Fran and his team bring a certain magic to the group which the children love and adore being part of.
Unfortunately, they only receive a small amount of funding from the Granadilla Council, nowhere near enough to keep the group going, and have lost around 40% of their members, for various reasons, since Covid.
It would be an absolute travesty if the group had to stop as this is an amazing opportunity to create memories and friendships for your children that will last a lifetime. The group is looking for children aged 4-17 who would like to join (at 18 they have to leave and join adult groups), they train from September until March and compete in various Carnivals around the island, particularly the big one in Santa Cruz.
They are also looking for any kind of sponsorship to finance the running of the group, their training facilities, uniforms, sound equipment, etc… the list is endless, so if you can help in any way, please contact (in English) on (+34) 660 117 237.
