article from March 3, 2011
by Julie R Butler
Today, for Fat Tuesday, we will take a whirlwind tour of Carnival
celebrations in Latin America, beginning in the Caribbean.
Trinidad and Tobago
Carnival
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is the most notable of the
Caribbean festivals. The sounds are of calypso,
the Afro-Caribbean music with melodious steel drumming, and its descendant, soca, which combines many newer sounds
such as reggae, R&B, and DJ.
It is interesting to note that it was the outlawing of stick
fighting and African percussion that brought about the melodic steel drum
sounds that are such familiar icons of the Islands today. The Africans who were
brought over by the French as slaves were also originally banned from
participating in Carnival, so they created their own festival called Canboulay, which later became part of
the distinctive celebration that has spread throughout the Caribbean.
The main events of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival are the
competitions to be named Calypso Monarch, Kind and Queen of the Bands,
International Soca Monarch, Carnival Road March (which is the most played song
in the parades), Panorama (for steel drum music), and other titles for stick fighting
and limbo. Each band that competes has its own King and Queen, who wear
enormous costumes that often require wheels and extensions to hold up. And, of
course, there are dancers decorated with feathers and sequins.
In many traditions, there are also distinctive Carnival characters
that have evolved through time. In Trinidad and Tobago, these include the
rhyming speechmaker, Pierrot Grenade; the
wandering black Minstrels in
whiteface; the outrageous braggart, Midnight
Robber, Jab Molassie, a devilish
figure with an entourage of imps; and Dame
Lorraine, a caricature of an 18th-century French aristocrat, usually played
by a man.
Mexico
Moving on to Mexico, the biggest Carnival celebrations are
held in Mazatlán, Mérida, and Veracruz, with colorful folkloric dance performances
and parades that blend indigenous and European traditions. They are accompanied
by fairs, complete with rides and games, and may also include bull riding and
other rodeo competitions in the north, while in the south and along the coast,
more indigenous elements are present. Regional foods are important parts of the
celebrations.
Central America
Carnival in Panama is a big deal, featuring huge concerts
with national and international artists in addition to the Carnival parades.
The main events are held in Las Tablas, on the Azuero Penninsula in the
southwest of the country, and in Panama City.
Elsewhere in Central America, Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez, in
the Pacific coastal lowlands of Guatemala, is famous for its eight-day Carnival
feast, which keeps alive many of the unique cultural traditions of the region.
Venezuela and
Colombia
Venezuelan youths celebrate Carnival with a two-day water
fight, along with other family festivities. Meanwhile, in Barranquilla, Colombia,
the competitions are with flowers. The festivities there commence with the
Battle of the Flowers Parade on Saturday, lead by the Carnival Queen, tossing
flowers out to her subjects. The Grand Parade fills the streets on Sunday with such
distinctively Colombian music and dance styles as the sultry cumbia dancing, the garabato, which celebrates the victory of life over death, and the torito folk dancing that portrays the
bullfight. The four days of revelry come to an end when Joselito Carnaval dies and is symbolically buried. Because colonial
authorities censored Carnival celebrations in the larger political centers such
as Bogotá and Cartagena, the festivals grew, incorporating local indigenous
traditions, in smaller towns such as Barranquilla and Pasto. The vivacity and variety of the many
different customs is the focus of Colombian celebrations.
Ecuador
The Ecuadorians also partake in water play, as their
rendition of Carnival is heavily influenced by pre-Columbian traditions that
celebrated the harvest season with the throwing of flour, flowers, and perfumed
water. To this day, the festival in Ambato is named Fiesta de las Flores y las Frutas. The festivals in Ecuador usually
begin with the election of Father Carnival, who will lead the parade.
Bolivia
The Bolivians, too, celebrate with water play and distinctive
regional music styles. The country’s biggest Carnival celebration occurs in the
central Bolivian city of Oruro. This event begins by honoring La Vírgin de Socovon, the patron saint
of miners, with a marching band competition. This is followed by three days and
nights of parading, where groups perform intricately symbolic folkloric dance
forms with names such as Caporales, Diablada, Pujlay, and Tinku. They represent
an intriguing blend of Andean indigenous with Catholic traditions.
Peru
The Peruvian town of Cajamarca is known as this country’s
Carnival Capital. Here, the festivities are centered around the unsha tree, which is adorned with
ribbons, balloons, fruits, toys, and even bottles of booze (something for
everyone!). After a period of dancing around it, couples take turns striking at
the tree, and when it falls, the prizes are claimed.
Argentina
Finally, we come to Argentina, where Carnival is celebrated
most flamboyantly in the north. In the northeastern province of Corrientes, the
influence of Brazil is evident in the samba school costumes and parades. Uruguayan camdombe influences are also strong here. The capital city of
Corrientes has a version of a Sambadrome called the Corsódromo, but neighborhood parties and parades carry forward the
original peoples’ spirit of Carnival. The province of Corrientes is said to be
“the cradle of Argentine Carnival.” From there, the traditions spread into the
neighboring province of Entre Ríos, where the city of Gualeguaychú also has a
Corsódromo. As in nearby Uruguay, the competition between comparsas, or performing groups, goes on for many weeks starting in
late January or early February.
Meanwhile, Jujuy, in the northwest, has a very different
kind of culture, and this is reflected in the nature of the Carnival
festivities, which are more similar to those of Bolivia.
In Buenos Aires, the Murgas
play a leading role and the Carnival celebrations mirror those that take place
across the Río de la Plata in Montevideo – with more of a focus on the Tango,
of course!
[Images via Wikipedia]
[Images via Wikipedia]
Julie R Butler is a writer, journalist, editor, and
author of several books, including Nine Months in Uruguay and No
Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for
more info). She is a contributor to Speakout at Truthout.org, and her
current blog is Connectively
Speaking
email: julierbutler [at] yahoo [dot] com, Twitter: @JulieRButler
