Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife () is held each February in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the largest of the Canary Islands, and attracts people from all over the world. It is considered the second most popular and internationally known carnival, after the one held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Partially for this reason, the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is twinned with the city of Rio de Janeiro. In 1980, it was declared a Tourist Festival of International Interest by the Secretary of State for Tourism. The Carnival
Flag of Tenerife Tenerife as Nivaria, derived from the Latin words "nix", "nivis" or "nives", meaning snow, in clear reference to the snow-covered peak of the Teide volcano. The name of Tenerife is derived from the language of the Benehaorits - the natives of nearby La Palma. "Tene" means "mountain" and "ife" means "white". After colonisation by Spain, the letter "r" was added, uniting both words. The flag was first adopted as a maritime registry flag of the maritime province of the Canary Islands. It was initially adopted in 1845 by Royal Order and was adopted as the flag of Tenerife by an