Lanzarote People
K
ing
for
day
a
Devil for Life
Victor Padrón Tavío
Victor as King
n Do you have to manage a camel?
No, there’s a camellero (camel handler) to
take care of that.
Victor Padrón is at the heart of celebrations in
Lanzarote’s ancient capital of Teguise.
President of the town’s Diabletes carnival
association, you’ll also see him on January
5th when he plays the role of one of the three
wise men who traditionally parade through
Spanish towns, throwing sweets to the
children and receiving their lists of presents.
n You’re pretty well known in
Teguise, Do the children ever
recognize you?
No. Even my daughter had no idea it was
me last year.
n And in less than two months,
photos: Ayto de Teguise
n How long have you been playing
instead of giving children
presents you’ll be scaring the
hell out of them in a diablete
costume? Which do you prefer?
About ten years now. I do it here in the old town – there
are different Kings in Costa Teguise, and the ones who
arrive at La Graciosa by boat are different, too.
Being one of the three kings is fun, but
being a diablete is part of my life. I’ve
been doing it for 35 years now, and it’s a
family tradition – the oldest carnival
tradition in the islands.
n There are three Kings; Baltasar, Gaspar and
n What exactly do you do?
one of the three kings, Victor?
Melchior – which one do you play?
It doesn´t really matter. Whichever costume I get, really.
The first two years I u 6VBF