Well the Kid’s Parade went off very nicely yesterday although I did get into trouble for calling it a cabalgata. ‘It’s not a Cabalgata,’ my daughter informed me witheringly, ‘There are no floats!‘

In previous years the kids went dressed pretty much as they liked or possibly as they last had for Halloween which would explain the preponderance of devils, witches and mommias, but this year was different. The school chose the disfrazes and they organized getting them or making them as the case may be.

This made our Kids Parade more like the real thing where the dancing troupes called comparsas wear group costumes and pass the spectators together in a band.

First off were the traffic lights of which I have to apologise to all the other mums because my little semaforo clearly shone the brightest.

There were roving gangs of pirates, chefs in tall paper hats, American tourists in loud shirts brandishing cameras, Hawaiian dancers (who certainly seemed to be having the most fun!) and  ‘Indios de La Palma’, a nod in the direction of the immigrants who left the Canaries for the Americas and a traditional part of the Carnaval of Santa Cruz de La Palma since the ’60s.

My daughter has been teased by one of her classmates lately, who calls her ‘Ugly’. Telling her that little boys are more likely to torture the little girls that they like the best fell on deaf ears I am afraid, but guess who that is on her arm???

Ha! Change the world as much as you like but the little things will always stay the same.

I took many, many photos on Friday and in all the streets are thronged with parents, grandparents, friends and townspeople. As one local said to me,  ”This day makes us all happy. It is not only for the kids but also for the town.”

I just don’t get Jazz, you know. To me it’s like listening to a cat with saucepan lids tied to its tail getting scalded over a pan of boiling porridge but hey… to each his own, right? I’ll stick to the Chinese Opera if you don’t mind.

But if you are into Jazz, then Arona council have got a treat lined up for you this weekend. Hie thyself and several like minded friends over to the Plaza de la Iglesia de Los Cristianos where on Friday 8th you can hear Guitarr Juice and Funkfarria strut their stuff.

(The video below is of Funkfarria playing ¨No Digas Nada¨ a Liquid Soul Band original -  credit to Kamenup for the Youtube upload.  Kamenup has uploaded several other videos of the Arona Jazz Festival so worth a look if you are a jazz fan).

On Saturday 9th it is the turn of Manolo Rodiguez on Jazz Guitar and Ann Peters doing her NU Groove.

III Arona Jazz Festival

Friday May 8th 2009 – 21:00 hrs
Guitarr Juice
Funkfarria

Saturday 9th May – 21:00 hrs
Manolo Rodiguez Jazz Guitar
Anne Peters Nu Groove