Monday, February 16, 2009

Carnival in B.A.

Last night I went to a carnaval celebration. I hear the BIG celebrations are in Brazil. There is another big celebration in Argentina but it's up north. Buenos Aires is getting in on the fun too, but the city's celebrations are more family oriented.
Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during January and February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations. (from Wikipedia)
For the B.A. celebration a street was closed off. There was a gated circle where the people performing danced and played music. They reminded me of a high school band with their big drums and funny looking uniforms. Not only were there "bandos", but they had girls and children dancing along with them. Spectators stood around the gates and watched....

...behind the spectators who were watching the show.... there were children having "espuma" fights. Each child had a can of foam and they were covering anyone who walked by, even the old people. It was a real mess, but they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

We went to the celebration at 8:30pm and left around 11pm (how non Buenos Aires of us). It was a good time.

No comments: