A major part of the preparations for the festival is the construction of alfombras, or carpets. Many of the carpets depict religious scenes while others are more ornamental in nature. The most significant of these is the alfombra de arena, or sand carpet, that covers the plaza in front of the town hall. The artists begin laying down the sand approximately one month before the festival. All of the sand is derived from rocks gathered from various places around El Teide, the volcano in the center of the island. No artificial coloring is used to produce different shades; it is all natural. We spent several hours on Wednesday evening walking around La Orotava, and seeing the alfombra de arena was certainly a highlight of the walk.The pictures below show some of this year's piece; it is too large to capture in one shot, even from the second story of the town hall. The level of detail in the work is extraordinary. Jason's host father, an architect, is involved in the design of each year's images.
The alfombra de arena in the central plaza of La Orotava. Apart from some wood pieces that adorn the framework of each image, everything is made of sand.
The center image of this year's alfombra de arena depicting Doubting Thomas.
Another perspective of the alfombra de arena.
Following our viewing of the alfombra de arena we gathered for a quick group shot. It is incredible to see how well they get along after such a short time together.
Back row (l-r): Parker, Jason. Middle row (l-r): Brendan, Andrew, Ben, Robbie, Nick, Serafin (host father who is also helping to teach classes this year). Front row (l-r): Rachel, Sydney, Taylor, Annie.
And, as you can see, this is not a group to always take seriously.
On Thursday afternoon we returned to La Orotava, this time to see the alfombras de flores. Groups begin working on these very early on the Thursday morning of festival week, as they have to be completed by the end of the day. We arrived at around 3pm and, as you can see from the following pictures, the works were in various states of completion. Each carpet is made with flower petals as well as plant stems and seeds and then framed with a bed of pine needles.
The street leading up from the church
One of the carpets
The street leading past the church
Setting up a new piece
Adding the final touches
The designs receive a periodic misting throughout the day.
The design on the street leading to the Casa de los Balcones
The carpet designed by Jason's host family. Much of the work was completed by Jason's host brother and his friends.
All of the streets around the main church in La Orotava are covered with these floral designs, and as unthinkable as it seems for us, it is all done in preparation for the procession that passes over them on Thursday evening, destroying them. So, the months of preparation in the design of the pieces as well as the countless hours spent in preparing both the alfombra de arena and alfombras de flores is erased within a few hours. It all will be reconstructed again next year, only with different designs.
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