Icod Residents Lose Sleep Over Murga Noise

Residents living near the Deslenguadas murga rehearsals are losing sleep due to the noise. They complain that the Icod de los Vinos City Council has failed to resolve the issue, despite years of complaints.

The all-female Carnival group from Icod has been rehearsing at the site since 2004. Alejandra Pérez Montes de Oca, president of Deslenguadas, notes that "the development wasn't even built when we were already here." Their rehearsal space is in the old single-teacher school of La Mancha.

Pérez stresses that their main goal is "to live in peace and harmony." She adds, "Our intention is not to bother anyone. We want to enjoy Carnival, make it work for everyone, and for the neighbors to be comfortable and at peace, just like before."

One anonymous resident, who works in Aguamansa, La Orotava, needs to start work at 7 AM, meaning he wakes up around 5:45 AM. He states, "If it's a murga rehearsal day, I only get about five hours of rest." He has lived in the development for two years.

He explains that rehearsals typically finish around 11 PM, after which "they go out into the street shouting." He adds, "We are about 100 or 200 meters from their building. Sometimes we call the Local Police, and they tell us they've received the same complaint from residents in Santa Bárbara, who are about two kilometers away," highlighting the extent of the noise.

Another resident, also wishing to remain anonymous, calls the situation "unbearable." He says, "We're already having health problems because it feels like the murga is rehearsing inside my living room." He describes the drum noise as "brutal." This resident has lived in the development for six years.

This Icod resident recalls speaking to the murga members a few months ago: "I politely approached them around ten at night and suggested they could at least close the windows. I get up at five-thirty in the morning for work, and my five-year-old daughter has to go to school." He claims the murga members responded "in a rather arrogant tone, telling me they didn't have to close anything and had permission from the City Council to do whatever they wanted."

The local council states they are preparing new facilities for all Carnival groups. They add, "For Deslenguadas, the time to move them hasn't come yet, but efforts are underway to make that happen."

However, Deslenguadas also reports experiencing harassment and intimidation. The president of the Icod female murga explains, "It seems like some neighbor, specifically from that building, is declaring war on us." She mentions graffiti and "something similar to stones" being thrown at their windows. She concludes, "We are following all the rules, but we're still being bothered, and we don't understand why."