People didn’t go to the shops, the shops came to them, all around the centre of Santa Cruz shopping stalls spilled out onto the street to boost trade. Dancing girls, marching drummers, and live music did the trick and ensured that customers were flowing between zones featuring fashion, electronics, childrens clothes and toys and even art and books.

I had a rough plan for what I wanted to see but drifting with the tide in Calle Castillo I was in no particular hurry. Little pots of fruit flavoured Actimel were being offered at every corner by some rather nice promotions girls, I had so many of these healthy drinks I’m now convinced I will live to be 150. I caught some of the early dancers on the main stage in Plaza La Candelaria and then popped along to Plaza del Principe where a carousel of tapas was the big attraction.

A dozen stalls were offering a tapa and a drink for 2 euros so of course I sampled a few, it was a lovely setting in the park area with plenty of seating in the shade, families were making the most of the relaxed feel and the wine samples from the stage were eagerly tasted – I tried a few glasses of the red just to balance things up a little after the healthy options. The previous night I attended the Excelencia 2.0 awards in Los Cristianos rewarding good use of social media and in the park I was impressed by a promotion run for Krakis, a new chocolate and nut biscuit with sweet chocolate cream inside mmm. Free bars came with a competition to pose in front of their giant internet screen to post a shot on your facebook page – the queue was massive all day.

Moving across to Parque Garcia Sanabria a sea of attentive children were enthralled by a puppet show. It was like Punch and Judy but involved a big ferocious looking dog – the teeny audience were made of stern stuff but it petrified me and I was found quivering like a jelly behind a bush. Parents were loving the free entertainment, the open air café was full as the grown ups enjoyed drinks and snacks with their offspring safe and in close view.

Cutting back through Calle Castillo I stopped to enjoy some street dancers evoking the spirit of Carnaval. I love living statues and a silver plated Robocop had me chuckling like a drain as he whirred into life to make passers by jump. A bit of rock music was on my list of must sees and I arrived back at the big stage just as a latin salsa academy were shaking their bodies. Los Descendientes then took to the stage and I was very impressed, their guitar sound owed a bit to Nirvana and the lead singers snarl reminded me of Alice Cooper at his best.

I had a few more calls to make away from Sal 2 but it was still in full swing with a10 pmfinish loosely kept in mind. Hopefully theSanta Cruzbusiness community will have topped up their tills and as for visitors they must have enjoyed the buzz that it brought to the capital city.