‘For a designer, sleep is an absolute luxury’
Manuel Camejo has degrees in both Interior Design and Fashion Design and spent two years teaching fashion in Madrid. He was happy and professionally secure, but ultimately, he missed the sea – his roots.
‘I’ve been in Carnival mode since the cradle!’ he laughs. ‘I was one when my mum dressed me up as Pierrot.’ While still in his second year of Interior Design, he began creating stage sets for Carnival. In 1989 he moved into costume design, starting with the murga Las Revoltosas, a satirical street band. ‘From the start I was very clear about one thing, my only condition: I do not design clown costumes. Since then, I’ve designed and made costumes for a host of groups – queens, kings, murgas…’
‘I come up with the initial concept for the costumes, and the groups add a few ideas. Men’s and women’s costumes are very different, and the comparsas and dance troupes often require three different outfits a season, which means a lot of extra work. I always present three designs, and we develop the one they choose.’ He stresses the team effort. ‘Of course I have my seamstresses who measure, cut, sew, correct… without them it would be unthinkable.’
‘I love what I do, both the Carnival work and other projects. I owe so much to the freedom my family always gave me to be whatever I wanted. The creative world can be very rewarding, and profitable, but on Lanzarote you can’t expect to live off Carnival – not even in Gran Canaria.’
You can, however, expect long hours. ‘It demands immense dedication. For a designer, sleep is an absolute luxury. You need to travel, see things, soak up new ideas… the next Carnival begins while I’m still putting the final stitches on this year’s collection. The real work starts in June. And of course, every design is top secret.’
Beyond the sequins and the spectacle, Camejo sees Carnival as ‘embracing difference, showing your individuality, being fully yourself – an amazing feeling and, ironically, often done from behind a mask and a costume. Carnival is also about respecting freedom of expression, and I can’t help but feel we’re losing some of that. I miss the saucy sass and the art of saying things with a nudge and a wink.’
He’s wary, too. ‘It feels like Carnival all year round. We’re quick to adopt other cultures’ traditions, like Halloween, but by the time our own festival comes around it’s lost its edge as something unique. Also, from the moment it starts in Arrecife until it ends in Playa Blanca, we’re effectively on tour for a month – and that dilutes it as well.’
