Bishop of Tenerife tries to ban dancing in fiesta procession ....

[Janet]

Once upon a time General Franco was stationed in the Canaries, and he tried - and failed - to ban Carnaval. Now, the bishop of Tenerife has tried to stop the residents of La Zamora, in the Los Realejos municipality, from dancing the paso doble at the end of the procession carrying the statue of the patron virgin in their fiestas patronales.

Even the parish priest was drafted in to threaten his parishioners in an attempt to ban it, but like Franco, the Church failed ... and the local church has been closed, with the bishop's letter nailed to the front of the door ... an attempt to emulate Martin Luther in reverse perhaps ...

Meanwhile, the locals danced. The full story is HERE ... Olé!!

[Perikles]

  I've learned a new word: rifirrafe, an insignificant disturbance.

Edit: To be a bit fair to the bish, it was the local priest who wrote to him asking for an opinion. Perhaps the bish had not much option but to say that the paso doble was inappropriate for the occasion. But it is pretty stupid telling a village population that they can't dance.