February 12 2012
It's Carnaval time and from what I’ve seen on TV, during carnaval I’m going to be surrounded by about 1000 of my closest friends; everyone will be having a great time dancing in the streets; I’ll have beautiful women hanging off me and I’ll have a great time amongst all the colour and excitement. However, I was watching a beer commercial so perhaps the reality will be somewhat different.
From a young age I was aware of the famous carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. As I grew older, I learnt that many other cities and towns in Brazil celebrate carnival. But it was only when I arrived in South America for the first time six months ago, that I discovered that carnaval is celebrated in many countries throughout the continent. Up until recently, I wasn’t even aware it was a catholic celebration. I thought it was a big party just for the sake of it. Call me ignorant but I bet you don’t know anything about my aunt’s cake drive every year at her local school fair.
The main themes I’ve been hearing, when the topic of carnaval comes up in conversation, is of traditional parades, dancers with elaborate costumes, folkloric music and water fights. I have visions of kids, and kids at heart, armed with water pistols and water filled balloons claiming the streets in a ‘take no prisoners’ warfare, much like the tomato fight of La Tomatina in Buñol, Spain, but with water.
I’ve been told there’s a difference in the carnaval parades between cities with cooler climates to those in warmer climes. The most notable difference being the amount of flesh the dancers will have exposed. A common theme, no matter what the location, seems to be a lot of eating and drinking and a laxed attitude towards mischief in public. It´s as if everyone is making the most of this freedom before the sacrifices of Lent arrive on Ash Wednesday.
For the best carnaval celebration in Bolivia, I’m told Oruro is the place to be. So there I shall go. I’m expecting to experience a lot of things but whatever the reality is, I know one thing for certain: there will be no half measures. The dancing, the eating, the drinking, the mischief … will be bigger, brighter, louder and more over the top than ever.
