What's on in Spain on February?

February is the month of Carnival in Spain. If you thought that Carnival celebrations where exclusive of Brazil or Venetia, you will find a pleasant surprise in the Spanish Carnivals. The most famous are the ones of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and those of Cadiz in Andalusia.

Tenerife's Carnival is somehow similar to that of Rio in Brazil, perhaps because of the location itself, since Tenerife is a tropical Island, with an average temperature of 22° Celsius throughout the year. For local "Tinerfeños" this is the biggest event of the year and they eagerly work on their costumes for months to show them in the numerous Carnival parades. Dance, music and colour are displayed on the streets of the cities. The most important parades take place in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the Island. When: February 19th March 5th

Also famous is the Carnival of Cadiz, which takes place in February too. This is a different way of living the Carnival, a fun festival where groups of friends dressed up according to a theme sing songs whose lyrics are a parody of public events or news. Lot's of fun, flamenco and "cachondeo" (joking) are the ingredients of the Carnival of Cadiz. When: 23 de Febrero al 5 de Marzo de 2006

February is also the month for the Arco Art exhibition, in Madrid. A unique cultural event which will gather over a hundred exhibitions from across the globe. When: 9-13 February 2006

If you are travelling to Spain in February, here are the dates for some special courses that may be interesting for you:

• Spanish for business course in Madrid or Barcelona: starting on February 27th.
• Weekend course in Barcelona: starting on February 24th.
• Flamenco course in Sevilla: starting on February 13th.
• Spanish course for students over 50 years old in Tenerife: starting on February 13th.
• Scuba diving course in Tenerife: starting any Monday