Carnaval

(From Domingo 3/7/10)

After mass this morning, the family and I went to Carnaval in Santo Domingo. Carnaval was really interesting. From what I’ve understood, it is a celebration held throughout different cities in the DR, the largest celebration of which being in La Vega. In general, I think Carnaval is typically celebrated throughout February, as the 27th is DR’s Independence Day, but Santo Domingo’s Carnaval was today on March 7th.

Carnaval itself was a lot of fun, and a lot to see visually. It was a very long parade, with many people dressed in costumes and masks. I've been in a lot of parades because of baton twirling, but I definitely have never witnessed a parade like this before. There was a lot of loud Merengue and Bachata playing throughout, and some of the people dressed in masks, carried football shaped balls tied to strings. Occasionally during Carnaval, they run out into the crowds and start hitting everyone with the balls. So, to paint a little picture: everyone in the crowd is dancing along the sides, having a good time, and cheering during the parade, and then suddenly a masked parader rushes out into the crowd and starts hitting everyone. Imagine that at your local July 4th parade back home! I was curious, and asked my host dad why people do this, but was told it is a tradition during Carnaval. I wish I knew more about it so I could explain it better, but needless to say, it was definitely pretty funny, quite interactive and sometimes frightening to be a part of the crowd for this parade.

The parade’s location reminded me of the Miss America Parade, formerly held in Atlantic City along the boardwalk, as Carnaval was held next a road right along to the water. Here’s a picture of dusk in Santo Domingo along the parade route.

Miss you all back home. Thanks for reading!

xo,

Emma