Today, I´m gonna talk about Carnival parties, from Ecuador, Brasil and Spain
Brazil
The Brazilian Carnival is made up of different elements and is given in different forms in each of the cities where it is celebrated. We can say that at a general level it has costumes or costumes that both tourists and participants of the Carnival use.
Music and dance, which depends on the region where Carnival is celebrated, for example, in some cities, is not Samba, which is the most danceable and enjoyable music in Carnival times.
We can talk about the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro and the Carnival of Brazil, the first one tells us about the traditions of Rio, the second tells the story of a country and portrays its memory.
The Brazilian Carnival, as we will learn, has its origins in two aspects, the first related to the Roman traditions that led to the Europe of conquest. And the second is the result of the slave trade process. The history of Carnival is imbued with these two characteristics.
We can say that Brazil is a country where the European colonies left different traces and forged a tradition composed of different moments, customs, typical dances, sorrows and joys in each region. This has caused the Carnival to go in different directions in each place.
For example, the celebration of Rio de Janeiro, which takes place four days before Ash Wednesday, differs from many of the Brazilian festivities, which take place on the same date, because in this celebration the celebration takes place. in the Sambadrome. In cities such as Bahia and Recife, celebrations take place directly on the streets and those present dance to the sound of electric trios.
The traditional festival of Salvador begins on Friday, four days before Ash Wednesday.
There are two main parade routes, one going from Campo Grande to Plaza Castro Alves and the other from Barra to Ondina. We can pay some money to receive a shirt with the name of a band, as well as some shorts. With this costume you can participate in the parade separately to the crowd.
The whole city becomes a big party, everywhere you can find drinks and music sales. There are fruit drinks called Batidas which are mixed with Cachaca, a domestic liquor with 40 degrees of alcohol. We also find the Caipirinhas, the most typical cocktail in Brazil. We better rest during the day, because at night Carnival continues and it's a party that we can not miss.
In addition, these cities have an architectural beauty that seduces the visitor and transports him historically. Bear in mind that Bahia is the city that gives rise to Brazil and Samba.
In Recife and Olinda we also find a whole Carnival paradise. Recife is for many Brazilians the traditional destination of Carnival. Many people who live in Rio, and who want to escape the tourist wave of Carnival in their city, go to Recife. Next to this city we find Olinda, another great tourist destination of the Carnival.
In Recife the electric trios are essential participants that travel different points of the city. The party here begins in December, as the inhabitants begin preparations for the Carnival, awaiting the long-awaited date. We can find different pre-Carnival celebrations that usually consist of percussion groups that play in clubs, streets and squares, and even in Carnival galas. The Carnival begins officially with Galo da Madrugada, a party in the center of the city that attracts up to 20,000 disguised participants, who welcome the festivities.
In Olinda we find the sloping streets full of colors. The artists spend much of the year making huge dolls, which will be used by people in the carnival parades.
Here the people celebrate the Carnival with a deeper influence of the traditions, so if we want to feel more deeply the Brazilian history, and without being totally surrounded by tourists, this is an excellent option. There are interesting rhythms like Caboclinhos and the Maracatu of African influence, also the Frevo, a style of music where people dance with umbrellas.
As in the cities mentioned, in Florianópolis we find similarities, but also differences with the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro. All these cities are a historical and natural "jewel" that can not go unnoticed. They are coastal cities with white sandy beaches and a coral richness that makes them attractive for diving, they are also favorite for surfing.
In Florianópolis the Carnival takes place with great splendor. This city hosts a Sambadrome, the Passarela Nego Querido, where the same tradition of Rio is revived and celebrated with the impetus and passion of one of the best festivities, one of the wonders of the world.
Brazilian food is an important part of these celebrations and has in its feijoada its maximum representative. Made with black beans and lots of pork, this dish allows the "carnival" to last for hours without eating anything. In addition, it is accompanied by citrus fruits that allow a better digestion.
The Brazilian fricassee is another typical dish that is eaten during carnivals. It consists of a stew where the food is fried with beaten eggs, and also seasoned with lemon and parsley.
During parades and parades it is common to find salgadinhos (appetizers) such as yucca croquettes (yucca croquettes, made with egg and onion), chicken thighs and traditional cheese bread.
In addition, there are stalls that sell different types of meat and sausages in the form of skewers. Cakes and bowls (cakes) are also very common. These have a variety of different shapes and fillings (salty or sweet and can vary from fruits to fish, meat or even more spicy fillings.
As for drinks, caipirinha is inevitable. This typical Brazilian cocktail is made with cachaca (liqueur made with sugar cane), lemon, crushed and sugar. It is usually presented with straws, since the secret of the caipirinha is to drink the liquid from the bottom of the container, since all the juice of the lime and sugar are placed in the lower part.
Spain
On the other hand, the carnival is a great celebration with a lot of color, life and history, which is celebrated once a year for a long time in several countries of the world. For at least three days, on the street, people wear masks, costumes and music everywhere. Faithful reflection of our Latin character, both in Latin America and in Spain, is one of the most anticipated and popular festivities.
The humorous chirigotas of Cádiz
In the Carnival of Cádiz, you can entertain yourself with the famous "chirigotas". They are groups that sing satirical and humorous songs about the issues of society in the streets.
The Comparsas and their different definitions (in Tenerife and Cádiz)
If one looks in Cadiz for something more elaborate than the chirigotas, he will surely prefer the traditional comparsas. These are the equivalent of a chirigota but with more style. That is to say, they tend to be a more demanding poetic critique with a less humorous and satirical tone than the chirigota. The comparsas in the Carnival of Tenerife are very different. There is a real show with a parade that brings together dance, music and costumes.
In addition, Cádiz organizes the Official Competition of Carnival Groups to give different prizes to the best chirigotas, comparsas, choirs and carnival quartets.
The Murgas (in Badajoz, Cádiz, Tenerife)
To entertain even more people during these celebrations, in several municipalities, such as Cádiz and Tenerife, "murgas" are represented. The murga is a theatrical genre inspired by the chirigotas that mixes satirical theater with music and that is generally a social denunciation or humorous criticism of the past events carried out by a group of approximately ten people. Now there are female and childish murgas although originally it was a practice reserved for adult men.
The food also has a great place in this celebration, just like Brazil. There is no Galician who does not eat a good stew in his "Entroido". There are common ingredients throughout the community -grelos, chickpeas, pork, chorizo and potato- complemented in some areas with typical sausages such as androlla or botelo. As a dessert, a great variety to choose from: pancakes (blood or sweet), ears, flowers, fried canes
Each province has its typical recipes that highlight the carnival curd, a sweet characteristic of Granada that is made with the remains of Christmas cakes. Do not trust if you do not have it in typical ceramics from Granada or fajalauza since it is one of its hallmarks. In Cádiz, stand out the donuts and the cakes. In recent years, different gastronomic festivals have been incorporated, such as bristly, netigated or pulped.
The Farcit is a sausage made with pork stew with minced meat, eggs, raisins and bread. The "botifarra d'ou" is not missing in the Catalan Carnival meals either. It has an egg and still the most traditional way of eating it is in an omelet. As a dessert we have the coca de Llardons or, what is the same, pork rinds.
Ecuador
Now, the carnival in Ecuador is very cultural and celebrated with water, carnival foam, talcum powder or flour to paint the face or any type of vegetable-type paint. The best known place of this celebration is the city of Guaranda, capital of the province of Bolivar, 4 hours from the Ecuadorian capital, where they arrive from the same mountain range and the Ecuadorian coast because they are in the middle of the equator. Drink the typical liquor of the area, the "blue bird". There is a parade of allegorical cars that identify several themes and most of the comparsas dance the traditional carnival anthem "The Carnival of Guaranda".
A different celebration is the one that takes place in Ambato land of flowers and fruits, where the characteristic, unlike the rest of Ecuador, are the cultural comparsas, where the procession of floats is made, decorated with flowers and fruits of the area and delegations from other countries they arrive to parade in it. On the coast, the celebration in addition to water, foam and balloons also joins the cultural celebrations of the area as in Esmeraldas, where international festivals of African-American cultures are held in places like "Calle 8" and Las Palmas spa. This celebration is very well received by the whole population, so much so that in each of the cities beautiful and cultural shows are offered.
In the southern part of the country, especially in the province of Azuay and in the province of Canar, water and some other elements such as flour are also used in a kind of war, usually between relatives and acquaintances. In addition, there are also several public and private shows. The typical dish of this festivity in Cuenca is the motepata. However, in this area, this date is also used by many to go on vacation to other parts of the country, so, in the city of Cuenca, the most populated in the area, decreases the number of passersby and vehicles significantly.
In the Province of Guayas, Guayaquil, which is the largest and most populated city in Ecuador, known as "The Pearl of the Pacific" since 2008, the Carnival of Guayaquil, thanks to the initiative of the Very Illustrious Municipality of Guayaquil, has been promoted as a culture festival. Various activities in which children, youth and adults participate have turned this festival into an important tourist and cultural event in the city. Artistic shows, parade with floats, comparsas, among many other activities, have made the image of a carnival of games with water, ink, flour and oil, disappear, to turn it into an event full of color and loaded with tradition, which 4 days will flood the streets of the city with lots of rhythm and fun.
In the province of Pichincha Quito is the capital of Ecuador, here the carnival is lived following the tradition of playing with water, foam of carnival. flour and others. However, many of the capitalists take advantage of these dates to visit other parts of the country, especially the coast and the Amazon.
Bibliographic references
- https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2016/02/01/nota/5383057/carnaval-ecuador-ancestral-divertido
- https://www.goraymi.com/site/carnaval-en-ecuador-48a66f18
- http://kilometrosquecuentan.com/platos-tipicos-carnaval/
- https://laemadrid.com/tradiciones-de-carnaval/?lang=es
- http://archivo.elcomercio.pe/gastronomia/internacional/lo-que-se-toma-come-carnaval-brasil-noticia-723949
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