Every street and plaza is a stage in Santa Cruz. The Tenerife capital needs little excuse to party, well it´s all good training for the annual Canaval, and it´s always nice to give the traders of the city a boost. With 100 acts spread over 20 points, my Ten Mas bus ticket and the 110 Titsa bus whizzed me from Los Cristianos to Santa Cruz for an early Saturday morning start.

First stop was the Castillo San Juan on the sea front, near the spot where Nelson lost his arm when trying to lead a British invasion in 1797. History was very much on the menu for a series of theatrical story telling sessions in the castle courtyard as a narrator weaved tales of nautical action in days past. The hook nose of the modern Auditorio peaked in over the walls and the soaring solo singing of one of the players fitted in well with the opera season taking place inside the iconic modern hall.

Moving along the port road and into the heart of the city, it was clear that many people had poured into Santa Cruz for the day, I didn´t see the Star Wars storm troopers marching through the streets but did bump into Princess Leia and friends. Parque Garcia Sanabria is always a favourite call for me at any time but it was bustling with food trucks filling one avenue, and a couple of stages for a range of musical styles. An old fashioned photographer, Michi Rodriguez, using the traditional plates and cloak method was producing some splendid black and white images. The snappers whiskers and bow tie added to the time warp feel, and there was even a birdie to watch, dangling from the lens.

Plaza del Principe was gearing up for a night of DJs on the main stage, but down at street level the excellent Bloko drum band were pounding out an infectious musical blast. I had previously seen the mix of drummers from the Canaries, Cape Verde, and Kenya, at the annual youth football tournament in Playa de Las Americas, it was great to hear them again. Plaza Candelaria had a corridor of pink marquees packed with craft products, and the stage was being entertained by some bizarre puppet creatures. A little further round by the lake, a magician had the children spellbound with some classic tricks, yes they even made a rabbit appear from a hat.

There was only one way to round off such a pleasant day, the evening kick off between CD Tenerife and Cadiz, it was almost as if I had planned it! The magician must have spread his magic dust towards the Heliodoro Stadium, Tenerife got their first win of the season. Sport wasn´t left out at the Plenilunio, a series of small basketball courts on the port approach encouraged young fans to test their skills. A childrens run was taking place, with an adults version to follow later, and the stages would be featuring pop and rock bands.