Carnival is a celebration that takes place in several countries and cities of the world of Catolic tradition and takes place before Lent (Ash Wednesday).
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The word "Carnival" comes from the Latin carnem levare which means "to remove the flesh", this referring to the Christian custom of not consuming meat during the christian Lent.
Even though this celebration is celebrated in Catholic countries, it has its origins in pagan festivals such as those in honor of Bacchus (God of wine in Rome), the Bee Apis and Isis (Egypt), the Lupercals, among others.
This, generally, is a celebration where the hubbub abounds. People take to the streets with masks and costumes and decorated floats and troupes are presented, cheering people with their music and festive dances.
Carnival in Venezuela
In Venezuela, the date of the carnival is highly anticipated by the entire population, firstly, because the Venezuelan people are characterized by being very cheerful, they love party, dancing, drinking and having fun, and, secondly, because Mondays and Carnival Tuesdays are holidays, which represents days of rest for students and workers between the new year and Easter.
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In almost all Venezuela we celebrate carnivals, however, in this land of grace the most popular festivities are held in Puerto Cabello, San Diego, Barquisimeto, Carúpano, Maturín, Mérida and El Callao.
The characteristic music of the carnivals in Venezuela is:
1) Samba
The samba is a musical genre with African roots emerged in Brazil, from which derives a type of dance. It is one of the main manifestations of Brazilian popular culture and a symbol of national identity. Wikipedia
2) Calypso
The calypso is the name of a musical genre originally from Trinidad and Tobago, very popular in the Antilles, Venezuela, the islands of San Andres and Providencia in Colombia and much of the Central American Caribbean coast. He is both Anglophone and French speaker. In the predominantly Spanish-speaking countries that practice it, letters in Spanish are also included.
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Both types of music are heard in pre-carnival dates, starting with the “shout of carnival”.
The carnival seasons entertain the little ones, who since January have often played with water, mainly, throwing balloons filled with water to the unwary in the streets. The most perverse ones take these games to other levels, freezing the balloons 😖, throwing balloons filled with urine 😱, paint or rotten eggs. Sometimes they are organized by gangs and make wars with water balloons. I have to say that in other times I received several blows with balloons and they are not pleasant at all. 😲
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During carnivals, the tradition is to observe the parades parading through the streets of the cities where carnivals are celebrated. I remember preparing all the carnivals with my brothers in disguise to watch the carnival parade in the city of Puerto La Cruz. They were beautiful times; many people celebrating with joy and excitement. The samba and the calypso flood the streets of the city with the dancers striving to give the best show. While everyone observed the floats so beautifully decorated product of the work of the residents of each sector for months. I also remember that, with each applause, tons of confetti and candies were thrown from the floats that each one struggled to receive.
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In a country like Venezuela, where the Miss Venezuela pageant is a majestic event and seen by most Venezuelans, the celebration of the carnival queen, which takes place in some of the areas where carnival is celebrated, cannot be missed on an annual basis
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As many of you will now know in Venezuela, we are going through an economic, social and political crisis that has affected Venezuelans in a significant way, also affecting this tradition. Carnivals are not as colorful as they once were and insecurity has made many Venezuelans stay at home instead of going out to observe these shows. The crisis has manifested in some floats that are used as a means of protest, as can be seen in the following image:
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I hope you liked it and if so, comment on how Carnival is celebrated in your country.
Kisses,
Sources:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnaval
http://www.encarnaval.com/
My experience living in Venezuela