carnaval: a great idea

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Whereas the head crusher, the heretics’ fork, the rack etc. represent a few of the rather nasty things inspired by religion, Carnaval is an altogether more pleasant manifestation of ‘religious’ fervor. Although Carnaval may have been co-opted from heretical Roman festivals such as Saturnalia and Bacchanalia, the Catholic Church thankfully decided to incorporate a little pagan hedonism into traditional dogma. I guess you can’t burn them all. Or perhaps, the church agreed with the Brazilian author Jorge Amado who described Carnaval as “a month and a half of frolicking and merrymaking, of endless celebration because no one should have to tolerate the harshness of life uninterrupted for a whole year.” Either way, Carnaval arrived in the New World, and then got mixed up with the Indian and the African and transformed into something very Latin American. The heart of Carnival in Colombia is in the otherwise unremarkable industrial town of Barranquilla, two hours up the coast from Cartagena. For four days every year, Colombia comes to Barranquilla for Carnival. We assumed we ought to as well.

Carnaval is different things to different people, but a more or less universal theme seems to be debauchery. Religiously, it has something to do with getting everything out of your system before the horrific month-long period of abstinence called Lent. Practically, it seems to be about costumes, sexual insinuation, and copious quantities of beer and rum. Culturally, I suspect it is the outward manifestation of the historical, social, and religious syncretism of Amer-Indian, European, and African peoples. Whatever Carnaval may be is largely unimportant to the observers in the grandstand who devote themselves to voyeurism and consumption. Under the blazing equatorial sun, fantastically costumed dancers gyrate down the street to thumping afro-Caribbean rhythms. It is a highly coordinated riot of feathers, headdresses, sequins, colonial costumes, gorilla suits, black faces, devils, thighs, breasts, and beasts. Queens and kings of Carnival are crowned and buried and between there is a battle of flowers. In the hours between, the sun goes down, and the revelry moves to neighborhood corners where music pulsates and people young and old dance in the streets. It all ends in a daze as people sadly bury the king of carnival and get back to the dismal ordinariness of life between Carnavals. (Or so we were told since we somehow missed the internment).

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Comments

[Judy Mullins]

Great description and photos
Colin, How does Columbia's Carnival compare to Brazil's? Your photos are superb, and indicated that Columbia had a fantastic parade. Did you get the closeups by using a telephoto lens, or did you just snap the photos up close? Love,Mom

[petey]

living vicariously
looks like especially good fun from a three bedroom with two kids in tucson, az. cheers. p.s. even though he is a man in the photo, it's 'la muerte'...chalk it up to etymological evolution, i suppose.