The parish of Our Lady of Carmen, in the La Isleta neighborhood of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, was the setting this Tuesday for the award ceremony of the salt carpet competition. This event is part of the festivities in honor of the Virgin of Carmen, patron saint of sailors, which have been held in the neighborhood since July 6 and conclude on August 2.
The event recognized the effort of participants who create ephemeral tapestries with colored salt and other materials to adorn the streets of the port enclave, through which the image of the Virgin of Carmen passes during her processional outings in July.
The competition featured three main categories and a novelty: a prize of 500 euros awarded by the Port Foundation of Las Palmas to the winning carpet chosen from among the winners of each category. The popular organization has been managed by the Cultural and Recreational Association Corazón de La Isleta along with the Capital City Council.
In the Auroras category (processions from July 8 to 15), the first prize went to the Works Board, followed by Reina Teguise street and Roque Nublo street.
For the procession on 'Día de Ella' (July 16), Romeral street took first prize, while second place went to section 2 of Tecén street and third place to section 2 of Faicanes street.
In the third category, corresponding to the land procession on Sunday, July 26, the first prize went to Fontanales street, the second to section 1 of Andamana street, and the third to section 2 of the same street.
Romeral street not only won in its category but was also chosen by the Port Foundation of Las Palmas as the best carpet of the entire festival, thus receiving the 500 euros special prize.
In addition to monetary prizes, the festival committee surprised participants by presenting a plaque to the three winning streets in each category, which they can display on a house facade. The president of the Cultural and Recreational Association Corazón de La Isleta, José Juan Díaz Bonilla, expressed his satisfaction with the high participation and the notable level of the creations this year.
Díaz Bonilla described the festival's outcome as "very positive," highlighting the strong popular support for events such as the offering pilgrimage, the taifas dance, and the drag gala, which filled the Manuel Becerra square.
