The Puerto de la Cruz Carnival starts with the election of the carnival queen (19 February), the inaugural cabalgata or procession following on the Saturday (21 February). On Ash Wednesday (25 February), the beginning of Lent, the burial of the sardine takes place. The celebrations culminate on Saturday (28 February) with more carnival parades, costume contests and an Afro-Cuban tradition of beating a wooden replica of a cobra with a stick to the infectious tunes of Latin melodies.

The Puerto de la Cruz Carnival is also a good chance to take in some songs and dances indigenous to the island - carnival punters, clad in ridiculous, daring and outrageous costumes, converge on the streets and squares to the rhythms of congas, sambas, rumbas and the more traditional Spanish zarzuela.