The City Council is finalizing the file with the documentation to request the Ministry to regain the declaration for the popular festivity.
Seven years have passed since Santoña discovered that its renowned Carnival does not have the recognition of National Tourist Interest Festival granted by the Ministry of Tourism, despite both the Government of Cantabria and the City Council believing it did. It was El Diario Montañés that revealed then that six festivities in the region – also affecting La Folía in San Vicente de la Barquera, the Coso Blanco in Castro Urdiales, the Día de Campoo in Reinosa, the Gala Floral in Torrelavega, and the Día de Cantabria or de la Montaña in Cabezón de la Sal – lacked this honorary designation, as they had not validated their title when the criteria for this classification were updated.
During this time, the City Council of Santoña – through its previous local government team – often said it was working to regain this status but did not take the step of processing the request to the central government. It has been in this term, with the arrival of the new departments of Tourism and Festivities, that they have set to work to gather all the necessary documentation to compile a complete file to support that the sailor's Carnival deserves this recognition, to reclaim what it once had. "We have the project practically finished, missing only a section related to advertising and promotion expenses, and we hope to present it before the end of the year," announces the Tourism Councilor, Sara Lagarma.
As a novelty, this distinction will be requested for the celebration as a whole. Previously, the declaration, although used to promote all the Carnival events, was held only by the representation of the Trial in the Bottom of the Sea. "This time it will be requested for the entire Carnival: the murgas contest, parades, Día del Trasmerano... while, of course, emphasizing the Trial in the Bottom of the Sea, as it is what makes us special and the hallmark of our Carnival," the councilor emphasizes.
The task of gathering all the documentation – both in physical format and digital support – found in national and international media has been less arduous than expected thanks to the collaboration of the Carnaval del Norte association, the Los Vinikis group, and residents in a personal capacity, who have provided the departments with all the information they had from the origins of the festival to the present. The technicians at the Tourism Office have organized all the content, shaping the extensive project. "The requirements are very demanding, so we have collected many news articles and promotional materials, especially those no older than five years, which is what they ask for."
The Ministry of Tourism will be sent a comprehensive report with photographs, press clippings, videos – "a report on Santoña's Carnival that was broadcast on TVE's Informe Semanal program will be sent" – as well as many digital pages referencing the event and its positioning, in addition to its presence on social media. It should be noted that in 2019 the Ministry published a new order to regulate the declaration of National Tourist Interest, which opened the door to justify the dissemination of the event through digital media, greatly facilitating the task.
Once the file is complete, the request must be approved in the Plenary and sent to the Government of Cantabria for approval, which in turn will send it to the Secretary of State for Tourism. "There is a three-month period for a decision, and we are confident we will obtain the declaration." Regaining the distinction will translate into "greater projection of the festivity and will attract more visitors beyond the summer," says Lagarma.
Source: The Montañes newspaper