In June we planned a visit for our owners to the must-see Corpus Christi Festival in La Orotava. The summer festival, which has taken place annually for 175 years, sees the entire town of La Orotava preparing for months before visitors arrive to walk among the streets and public areas covered with floral carpets in intricate designs executed by artists and laymen alike. The flowers and sand must be dried and dyed, and buckets of materials line the streets for use in portraits, patterns, and landscapes.
It's a festival unlike any other, both for its popular nature and for its encouragement of artistry as a collective activity, not only for personal expression. While there are a number of professional artists contracted to create the complex and detailed portraits that line the plaza of City Hall, there are many opportunities for residents to participate in making other tapestries located throughout the town.
The history of the festival is one of organic growth, with the first tapestry being created by the Monteverde family in the middle of the 19th Century to celebrate the Eucharist. More families did the same over the following years, until it became established as the regular tradition of Corpus Christi in the town, with word spreading of the incredible event. Unlike other places that create carpets, the ones in Orotava are made only with flowers and sand, with no other materials involved.
During our excursion, we also visited Casa Cologan, home and art studio of one of the oldest families on the island, and were served exquisite canapés, pastries, and champagne. After a tour through the rest of the town, we took a lunch stop at Casa Machado y Llarena, a charming home that is a delight of Spanish colonial architecture with a large open courtyard, where we enjoyed a meal of traditional Tenerife dishes al fresco.
