4 Latin American carnivals to celebrate
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Latin America dresses up for a party! That is why carnivals are waiting for you between February and March, so you can travel and have fun
Masks, dancers, folklore, party and lack of control characterize the Latin American carnivals that are celebrated at this time. With a millenary history and before the beginning of Catholic Lent, different cities or countries are filled with festivity and disinhibition. A precise moment to celebrate life and travel in search of enriching experiences.
We present you 4 carnival destinations:
Leer en español: ¡Carnavales! 4 fiestas latinoamericanas para celebrar
Bolivia: Oruro Carnival
Designated in 2001 by UNESCO as 'Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity', the Oruro Carnival is a festivity that brings together colonial and pre-Columbian traditions. More than 50 folk dance groups make a pilgrimage to the Socavón Sanctuary, where the dancers pay tribute to the Virgin Mary and make promises of dance and theater in front of the spectators.
This carnival is celebrated during February's last week and the first days of March, in Oruro, a city located in the province of Cercado.
Colombia: Carnival of Barranquilla
One of the best known carnivals in Latin America for being one of the most visited. More than 800,000 tourists from all over the world come to Barranquilla to witness the extensive celebration that has been taking place since January with the pre-carnivals.
A triple union of European, indigenous and African traditions stands out with dancing and color during these dates that have an impressive symbolic and theatrical power. The most important parades are presided over by the carnival queen and the momo king.
Starting on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the carnival closes on the following Tuesday with the emblematic "funerary" parade that cries at Joselito Carnaval.
Uruguay: Montevideo Carnival
The longest carnival in the world, with almost 35 days of celebration. The city is decorated with festivity, lights, and colors to commemorate the Afro-Uruguayan suffering in times of slavery. The ancestral music called candombe was retaken by the 'murgas', which are dramatized groups that sing about current affairs in a satirical and reflective way.
This party starts from the last week of January and extends until the first of March, lasting almost 40 days. Declared as a long festival and of national interest, this carnival is one of the most culturally diverse because of its multiple artistic and party expressions.
Read also: The indigenous languages are the protagonists of 2019
Brazil: Rio Carnival
Despite the fact that Carnival is very famous nationally, the popularity rate is exceedingly noticeable in Rio de Janeiro, which makes it one of the largest carnivals in America and the world. The heart of the carnival, and by far its greatest attraction, is the 'sambódromo', a parade where the Carioca culture is in its greatest splendor, as the samba schools parade to the rhythm of the samba.
Men and women in splendid and impossible costumes, bright floats and all the brilliance of the party, planned months before, are the share of greatest pleasure for tourists visiting Rio de Janeiro.
The date of celebration, like the other carnivals, varies according to the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, so it is also celebrated a week before this religious celebration. The pleasures of the body and the flesh are unleashed there to receive the time of holiness without any problem.
LatinAmerican Post | Jorge Becerra
Translated from "¡Carnavales! 4 fiestas latinoamericanas para celebrar"
