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CARNIVALS

Carnival Etymology

At the beginning of Middle Age the Catholic Church suggested an etymology for the word carnival: the ordinary latin carne- levare, which means “to leave the meat” (what also meant that people should stop eating meat every Friday during the period of Lent). But it didn’t mean any sense, since the word carnival didn’t mean the end of festivities (events in where people always ate meat).

Nowadays the carnival has become a popular festivity, with a recreational aim.

A Carnival is, a public celebration which combines many elements such us costumes, marches and street parties.

Carnivals also have an specific date, that comes after Christmas and which ends the last Tuesday before the beginning of Catholic Lent. The Carnival period is also known as Mardi Gras, in French, “greasy Tuesday” or Tuesday of grease (pork). During Lent the catholic norms say that people can’t eat meat, but only vegetables and fish. After Carnival period it can continue “over” Lent, calling it in French “Mi Caréme”.

The places that host most of the carnivals are Rio de Janeiro and Salvador de Bahía in Brazil, Barranquilla and Pasto in Colombia, Venice in Italy, New Orleans and Mobile (Alabama) in United States, Trinidad, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cádiz in Spain (the last two places are known as international tourist festivities), El Callo, Carúpano, Maturín in Venezuela and Montevideo in Uruguay.

In Germany, places like Colonia, Dusseldorf, Maguncia and Munich are very well known for their carnival celebrations, marches and decorated balls, the last ones are called fasching in the south of Germany. The carnival is also celebrated in southern states (catholic) of Netherlands : Brabantes Septentrional and Limburgo. In Uruguay, the carnival is the most popular event, it is also the one which lasts more time, 40 days.

When the carnival ends in Madrid, on Tuesday afternoon, people celebrate the Sardine burial, and at the same time in Canarias people celebrate Ash Wednesday. In Murcia and in Cataluña a similar festivity is held, the march of the “Sardine burial”, this burials are very beautiful to see specially in places like Sitges and Vilanova and Geltrú. Once Lent has finished, the following Saturday after the end of Holly Week, symbolizing in that way  the end of non meat eating period. The next week-end is known as “piñata” and is the last part of the carnival although we are still living the Lent period,

In Chile, the carnival was celebrated till the New Patria, since Bernardo O’Higgings banned that celebration.

In Bolivia, The Carnivals of Oruro are very popular, in where we can see very well the Andean culture, the Hispanic culture and the catholic culture.

Other carnivals

The word carnival is also used to describe other type of festivities that are not placed in the time before Lent but that share similar elements such us marches of music groups.

In Colombia we find the carnival of Blacks and Whites, which is the celebration of Inti Yaco, it is held in Pasto and in other towns of nariño between 3 and 6 of January. The Carnival of Bogotá is held in August 6th, the foundation date of the city.

Introduced by the Spanish, the carnival in Colombia has added elements of the European culture and has synthesized and interpreted the traditions that belonged to the African and Indian culture of Colombia. There’s evidence which shows that the carnival had already existed in the country in the XVIII century and that caused disturbances among the authorities who banned the celebrations in the main powerful colonial cities such us Cartagena, Bogotá and Popayán. The carnival, as a consequence, had to continue its evolution in the villages and small towns, places that were not important at all and where the celebrations didn’t offend the elites.

The result was the never ending celebration of carnivals in Barranquilla (Carnival of Barranquilla), and in other towns along the Magdalena River, as also in Pasto (Carnival of Blacks and Whites) in the south of the country. In modern times, during XX century, there were many attempts to introduce the carnival into the capital of the country but this aim was never achieved since they didn’t get the permission of all the authorities. The Carnival of Bogotá had to wait until XXI century to be brought back by the same authorities of the city.