Who doesn’t love a good party? How about one that lasts for days, or even a whole month? Imagine a blow-out days long that rivals when your favorite team wins something like the Superbowl (minus the street riots and car flipping).
This is Carnival, the last bash before the 40 day fast of Catholic Lent (beginning on Ash Wednesday), an event celebrated around the globe (it kicks off today in Italy). While each location features parades, feasts, costumes and various levels of raucous behavior, each local culture puts a unique spin on how it is performed. The following pictures and posts from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Venice, Italy, Trinidad & Tobago and New Orleans, Louisiana display each communities immense pride in their culture, history and local heritage. Oh and each is one heck of a party.
so much dancing!
Global Citizen's list of four carnivals to explore:
1) Rio De Janerio, Brazil(February 5th - 10th)
This is the big one. Carnival in Rio attracts more than 2 million participants daily and attracts hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists. Prepare your eyes for beautiful, intricate costumes and for your feet to hurt from dancing with Rio’s Samba schools. These are dance troupes that represent each neighborhood and have prepared for months to deliver spectacular performances in the festival’s main parade.
2) Venice, Italy (January 23rd to February 9th)
Venice is the birthplace of the European Carnival. The party began in 1268 and spread to Portugal, Spain, France, Canada and North America. Today, Carnival of Viareggio spans a month and features masked patrons and floats caricaturing popular figures marching in parades throughout the city. Make sure to grab some frittelle veneziane (the Italian equivalent of funnel cake, but better), and tie on your mask for the "la maschera piu bella" or "the best mask" contest and join in on the celebration.
3) Trinidad and Tobago (February 8th & 9th)
Technically this is the longest of the celebrations, with costume preparations and parties starting months before the celebration culminates the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. On Carnival Monday or ‘Dirty Mas’ (cite), parade goers dress in costumes and ride on floats that satire political and social events. For music lovers (looking at you Global Citizen Festival fans) there’s a battle of the bands on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, where individuals jam out to become Calypso Monarch, one of the greatest honors in the country.
4) New Orleans (February 5th to 9th)
The most popular carnival celebration in North America, this celebration marks not only a rich cultural heritage, but today it is also marks the rebirth after the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought on the city. Come to the Big Easy to drape yourself in costumes and beads and be sure to catch one of the parades, there are four major ones: Endymion (Saturday), Bacchus (Sunday), Orpheus (Monday), Zulu (Tuesday morning) and Rex (Tuesday night)before Ash Wednesday, with smaller ones that begin the month before.
A4: Does it get any better than Mardi Gras in #NOLA? We think not. #TWchatspic.twitter.com/Y6EFAjFVWU
— Visit New Orleans (@VisitNewOrleans) January 13, 2016It all looks like fun and you love to turn up, but you can’t stop thinking about being a global citizen?
Ah, the struggle! It’s real, I know. The final feasts of carnival were traditionally marked as the last opportunities for communities to eat before winter set in. Today, food shortages due to conflict, climate change and poor economies still plague communities worldwide.
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So before you tie on on your fancy mask, go to TAKE ACTION NOW and sign the petition to support food aid reform. Together, we as global citizens can commit to help end world hunger as part of Global Goal 2.