SPAIN’S FIVE BEST CARNIVALS IN 2019
Culled by Chris Collins
Carnival time! Color, laughter, magic, music. Kick up your heels high and hard for tomorrow the
inexorable Holy Week will catch up with you and there will then be no running
away from penance. Make fun while the bands still play.
We propose the following to be the best
carnivals, not necessarily in order of popularity.
Get into the spirit of things now!
For the past four years, the hub of carnival festivities is located off the capital’s beaten paths. No Gran Via for you. No Castellana. Not even Puerta del Sol nor Plaza Mayor. This year the weeklong carnival will be held in the barrio of Prosperidad, Chamartin District. Head for La Prospe, folks!
The carnival theme is “A Night in Rio”. A tropical bird will transport the magic of Rio de Janeiro to the carnival of Las Palmas.
The famous Sitges Mardi Gras brings together 2,500 irrepressible carnival dancers and 50 fabulous floats. For the more than 300,000 fun-devotees who won’t give this party on the southwest coast of Barcelona a miss no matter what, this is the mother of all carnivals in Spain.
Mockery, wit, HUMOR, irreverent parody. Droll, clever, imaginative. Glamour and opulent costumes take a backseat. A painted face is favored over an elaborate mask. The gaditanos and their visitors “purge” the most pressing problems that beset society. And wouldn’t that be the best reason for holding a carnival! Held on the Bay of Cadiz.
For many, the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the most popular and best known carnival in the world, next only to the one held in Rio de Janeiro. Theme for 2019: Las Profundidades del Mar (The Deep Sea).
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Images
Featured image/Ole Husby, CC BY-SA2.0
Carnaval posters, Fair use
