Spain Cities: Top Carnavals
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After 40 years of being forbidden by the Spanish dictator, the Carnaval of Spain was allowed to return to the streets and reclaim its inheritance from dusty attics: the rhythms that never die as the rebirth of spring cries for expression. Spaniards appreciate a festival that invites us to experience it intensely, calling for the active and spontaneous participation of all who might join in.
Rome was a large influence on Spain; thus, their wild winter solstice ritual of the
Saturnalia may be cited as a major influence. These festivities had the first parade floats: a boat mounted on a carta cart, called the carrus navalis. (An alternative theory to the more popular "farewell to the flesh" that we usually hear about: Carne [meat] and valle= farewell.)The festival has changed greatly, although some of its earlier characteristics have survived: the festive permissiveness, the licentiousness of its customs and bending the rules of established order. Anything is possible, everything is allowed: Humans transform themselves into animals, males become females, peons strut like kings, social station is scorned, decorum is debunked and blasphemy goes unblamed. Carnival is a time when anything goes, before the arrival of Lent with its days of abstinence and penitence. With the end of Carnaval, el miercoles de Ceniza, there is another ceremony called El Entierro de la Sardina (Burial ofthe Sardine). The "fun times" are buried because it is now la Cuaresma - a time of fasting and praying. The sardina is a symbol which reminds the people that now they will be eating fish instead of meat. (Catholics still observe the tradition of not eating meat on miercoles de Ceniza and on Fridays during la Cuaresma). |
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GETTING THERE: Located 691 kms from Madrid, on
asmall peninsula with modern beaches and an important port. Airports:
either Seville or Jerez Airport. Also, Faro Airport in Portugal is only 2
hours away by car.
"There are countries where the
organizers don't know what they're doing or what's going on - but I wouldn't
name
Italy and
Spain!" --
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Cadiz is an ancient, seafaring City on
the Atlantic (along the Andalucian Coast) which means it enjoys a nice
regular cooling breeze running across itself. Traditionally, its date of
establishment is about 1100 BCE. Cadiz is a quiet and serene, except
when it plays host to Spain's ultimate party: Carnaval de Cardez, with
its choruses, fancy-dress processions, jokes, disguises and float
parade. The most popular type of group is the chirigotas, choirs normally of ten unison or close-harmony singers, accompanied by bombo, caja (drum, box - used as a percussion instrument) and guitar. Their repertoire is the most satirical of the different types of groups and the literary quality of the songs can be very high (they may be written by local authors). Only a few musical forms such as the tango or pasodoble are used, so that everyone knows the tune and can concentrate on the words. As the story goes, the Carnaval fun began
in the 17th century when the city tried to outdo the opulent carnival
celebrations of Venice. The crews of the great Spanish port on the
Atlantic spread their Carnaval song afar, most notably to Tenerife,
which has similar competitions for their world-famous Carnaval. The
galleons returned from the New World with not only gold and silver, but
with even more powerful treasure: the rhythms and musical influences
that still dominate today's Carnival. African and Creole rhythms, sambas
and rustic Colombian tunes all intermingle in the streets with local
Andalusian songs and traditional flamenco music. During the country’s
civil war in the 1930s, Gen. Francisco Franco banned Carnival in certain
areas because of its anti-authority theme. In 1937, he abolished it
entirely when fear of revolt was greatest. While many Carnivals end the day before the beginning of Lent, the party goes on several more days in Cádiz. Parades are held on the Sundays before and after Ash Wednesday. People on the floats throw confetti, or sometimes candy, to the children. Other nearby towns such as El Puerto de Santa María, Rota, San Fernando, Chiclana, Algeciras, Medina-Sidonia and Trebujena have lavish carnivals. Isla Cristina and Ayamonte are also famous for their elaborate costumes and excitement, drawing visitors from throughout the region and the other side of the Portuguese border as well. This area has avoided the mass tourism side effects which afflict better known tourist zones. For more Carnaval adventure consider crossing to Africa and enjoying the great Carnaval of Cueta. Fast [35 minutes] ferries sail from Algeciras near Cadiz to 'The Gateway to Africa.' |
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In the time of Caravel ships, when trade winds powered the intrepidvessels, this archipelago of seven islands was the gateway to the Americas. As a crossroads destination, the inhabitants grew rich on the trade. The history of this can bee seen in Las Palmas, which is home to may ornate churches. Tenerife is a very walkable city with many plazas and public spaces, which make an excellent atmosphere for their great Carnaval. The main events of the festival begin a week before Ash Wednesday, but the season starts months before, as groups prepared themes and costumes for the great party. The Carnaval officially begins with the election of the carnival queen. There are many flamboyant processions by Carnaval groups, fancy-dress parades starring Brazilian samba schools and fantastic costumes, street musicians, a cabalgata (horse parade), keen chorus and musical dance competitions -- all reaching a climax in the arena on the Tuesday. Visitors from all around the globe flock to the town to partake in the cross-dressing event of the year. Shrove Tuesday is marked with a great parade and the celebrations, finally end with the entierro de la sardina on Ash Wednesday. A ridiculously large sardine is burnt before an entourage of wailing widows. Many participants get into the spirit of the event by dressing in mourning clothes. Traditionally, the sardine's cremation, followed by fireworks and a huge open-air ball, should signify the last day of the carnival, and the beginning of Lent, but this carnival now comes to its climactic end the following weekend - at which point smaller towns around the island often start their own carnivals. |
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary
Candelaria Carnival by whatsonwhen.com |
"Julio Caro Baroja, the father of
Spanish Carnival studies, scorned the antiquarian notion that the masked
figures and seasonal inversions of Carnival were "a mere survival" of
ancient pagan rituals. Carnival, he argued, was first nurtured by the
dualistic oppositions of Christianity. Where it survives—for when he
wrote it had been banned in Spain by Franco—it still enacts those old
antagonisms. "Carnival," he concluded, "is the representation of
paganism itself face-to-face with Christianity." |
The Carnaval at Sitges (pronounced “Sit-jez”) is one of the outstanding events of the Catalán calendar. For more than a century, the town has celebrated the days before the beginning of Lent. Up to 250,000 visitors from Germany, Britain, Catalonia and the rest of Europe converge, ready to party and be amazed by each other's good-time spirits. Fancy dress, feathers, sequins, and plenty of skin make this a electrifying event. The party begins on the Thursday before Lent with the arrival of the King of the Carnestoltes and ends with the Burial of a Sardine on Ash Wednesday. The Grand parade has over 3000 revelers and 40 floats. Sitges has a large gay community, but this is not a particularly gay Carnival. However, amazing and glamorous drag shows can be found, and both the straight and gay press consider Sitges Carnaval a wild party. The Sitges Carnival will entertain even the most demanding reveller. Sitges lies about 40 km south of Barcelona and is one of the most popular resorts of Southern Europe. Sitges has long been an artist community; among the notables who frequented Sitges were Salvador Dalí and poet Federico García Lorca. Nearly everyone in Sitges speaks Catalan, and Barcelona families take over the resort town during the peak summer months. Sitges has more than 4,500 hotel rooms (half of them in four-star establishments), 1,500 rental apartments and 3,000 campsites; it can be difficult to find accommodations there during the summer months and the during the Carnaval. There's 17 beaches (including a gay beach and a nude beach), an active gay nightlife and a busy festival calendar. |
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The Carnival of Aguilas lasts two weeks,
beginning on the Saturday before Carnaval Saturday with the change of
power flowing to the Carnaval personages of Musa, Don Carnal, Doña Cuaresma
and Mussona. Carnaval Thursday sees the loose call 'of the Mussoná
take place -- a personage more recently recovered who rocks the carnival at
night, representing the beast inside us and the duality between the savage
and our more civilized selves. This is the traditional battle between order
and chaos at the heart of carnival. On Carnaval Saturday night, after
pregón, is the battle between Don Carnal and Doña Cuaresma; with this
triumph begins the celebration for the people. The parades are
Sunday, Monday, and Shrove Tuesday, and for many years on the following
Saturday, where a great parade brings participants of the many comparsas
from the region together. These parades will star more than 4,000 performers
in various comparsas, groups, bands, charangas and floats. The Carnaval de
Aguilas was declared of National Tourist Interest in 1997.
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The Carnaval of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria begins with the reading of the announcement, turning the city over to 2 weeks of colorful dreams and carnival magic. Open air concerts in Parque Santa Catalina feature salsa & merengue music and are the stars of what is called 'mongollon nights.' The spirit of regeneration and death give these fiestas a certain license for chaos and for upsetting traditional values. This leads to the typical street parties, known as verbenas del mogollón, in which thousands of people in fancy dress dance till dawn around the stalls and in Parque Santa Catalina to the rhythm of salsa music. The gala for choosing the Carnival Queen is one of the most important annual social events on anyone's calendar. There is also the Drag Queen contest, known throughout the world as one of Carnaval's most spectacular and magnificent. Body painting is becoming a noteworthy Palmas Carnival tradition, and there has been a wild BODY MAKE-UP competition since the year 2000. Be sure to not miss the Great Parade, which marches through the whole city of Las Palmas.
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The
Carnival of Cartagena has been honored with the highest national designation
as a declared Celebration of Regional Tourist Interest. The Federation works
closely with the City Council and other celebrations in the city to make the
Categena's Carnival one of the best in all of Spain. Cartagena is an ancient
port City and during the Carnaval with its many events ceremonies and
nighttime parades there is a special feeling of aliveness which cannot be
described only experienced. The Cartagena Carnival is a Carnaval of
international importance as cartageneros once again can show how to unite
the Mediterranean in the new millennium. The president D. Luís Ramallo
who is also the Founded about 230 BC by Carthaginian General Hasdrubal as Carthago Nova. Hannibal got silver from the mines to carry on the war against Rome. In 1873, the garrison arose against the First Spanish Republic and formed the independent Cartagena Canton. More recently, during the establishment of Autonomous Communities, some Cartageneros were not happy to be in the same region as inland Murcianos. A compromise was struck by having Murcia as the seat of the regional government and Cartagena as the seat of the parliament. Cartagena has a lot of archaeological sites. All over the old centre you can find showcases with remains of Roman buildings. |
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As an initiative of the Culture Department (Office of Festivals and Traditions) of the first post-Franco democratic City Council, Carnival was restored to all the citizens as their heritage. After 1989, the Carnival of Barcelona "surt de darrere el taulell" (come out from behind the stalls) when the city’s markets began to organise it. Since 1992, the Parade has been Barcelona Carnival’s most spectacular event, outgrowing its original home of the Rambla, Rua de Carnaval (Carnival Parade) Like most Carnavals in Spain,
the city is in charge of its organization and production.
Since 2002, the Institute of Culture has been in charge of
coordinating volunteer efforts along with the City Council Department for
Citizen Relations, the Municipal Institute of Education and the Municipal
Institute of Markets. Moving forward, the relatively young Comissió
Cívica del Karnaval de Barcelona (Barcelona Civic Commission on
Carnaval), is attempting to coordinate the many Carnaval events into a
united format that will continue to become even bigger and better each year. |
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Madrid's carnival was revived in 1976 after being quashed for 40 years under Franco's regime. Carnaval action in Madrid is still growing and remains centered around venues like the Casino and the Circulo de Bellas Artes. The main event is a huge parade along the Paseo de la Castellana. There are also fancy dress competitions and an evening concert in the Plaza Mayor. The end of Carnaval on Ash Wednesday brings on the traditional 'Burial of the Sardine' parade, with the participants all dressed in black carrying a cardboard sardine in a coffin which is theatrically and mournfully buried at the Fuente de los Pajaritos, marking the beginning of the fasting and reflection associated with Lent.
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Some people say that the original realpolitik of carnival was as a short-term safety-valve releasing pent-up emotions of a population feeling some degree of repression, at that time mainly religious. The period of carnival has sharply defined start and end dates, the latter being particularly important as they highlight the point at which the repressing power re-establishes strict control often with external symbolism (such as the religious daubing of foreheads with ashes the day after Mardi Gras followed by 40 days of abstinence.) During carnival, the normal mores of a strict society about status, sex and gender are relaxed for a short period and then re-imposed after carnival time is over. This relaxation allows emotions pent up over the year to be safely released with major risk to the holders of power. Carnival & Culture- sex, symbol & status in Spain by David D. Gilmore published by Yale University Press, 1998] and paraphrased by Ronald Hilton - 7/30/03 here |
Last Update: 7MAY06
Last Link Check: 07OCT05