carnaval...what can i say? the 2 carnavals i have been lucky enough to celebrate here in panama have blown me away. i had never participated in or seen such a huge celebration before coming to panama. and now that i have, i can't imagine going back to a life that doesn't include carnaval. so here's a look into carnaval for all y'all back home.
the crew heading out to culecoscarnaval happens every year the saturday-tuesday before ash wednesday, or, the beginning of lent. it is, literally, a festival of flesh (carne=meat in spanish). the idea is you get all of your sin out before lent starts, and you have to be a good christian. that means you go all out. and my favorite part is that everyone participates. the youth, the grandmas, the little kids. they ALL go big. here's a breakdown of all the main components of carnaval in panama:
las reinas (the queens)
each town has 2 reinas of carnaval, one represents calle arriba and the other represents calle abajo. calle arriba is generally made up of the more well-to-do people, some may call them snobs. calle abajo is for the hood. both queens prepare all year for carnaval. they need to raise money for their costumes, floats, fireworks, and promo materials (mainly big posters of glamour shots that everyone in the town puts in front of their homes). each day the reinas come out, in a new elaborate costume and float, and parade around the plaza where the culecos are (see below). a float with a murga also follows them (see below). people cheer or yell at them (depending on if they are calle arriba or calle abajo). sometimes it gets ugly and the opposing calle sings songs about the girls, detailing who they've slept with and mistakes they've made (all in good fun, of course). when both have paraded around they shoot off fire works and the two teams "dance battle." at night, they come out again and parade around in yet another crazy costume and float. they also light off more fireworks.on the last night of carnaval, the queens have a showdown. starting right before dawn (right before it's lent and you have to be good again) the two queens begin to light off fireworks. whoever can light off more, wins. this year i sat (very tired) at the plaza from 4am to 5:30am waiting for the reinas to come out. they were both shooting off their fireworks, but, clearly, calle abajo was winning. that girl had wayyyyyyy more. she shot them off til 8am. no joke.
la murga
the murga is a band that follows the reina around on its own separate float. it is made up of some percussionists (cowbell!) and a lot of horns (trumpet, trombone, etc). they play music to which the reina and people in the crowds dance. there's usually a bunch of entourage peeps that are on this float to. this year i saw: kids is condom tees, transvestites, hooches, you know... ¡agua!
the water is probably the best part of carnaval. kids and adults run around squirting people with water guns and pouring buckets of water on people. and you can't get mad. it's the law down here. from sunrise til 5 each day, be prepared to get wet. sitting in your car in the traffic with your window open? walking down the street in your new dress? it doesn't matter. you're going to get sprayed/splashed.the culecos are a ton of fun. basically, they're when huge water tankers line the sides of the plaza and spray people down. everyone comes to have fun, so the plazas are packed, especially in the big cities. the plaza is also lined with vendors selling beer and street meat. so basically, you get drunk, go get sprayed with water, yell at the reina as she comes around, and then stuff your face with fried and grilled items. what a day.carnavaleando tip: when the reina comes around, follow her murga around the plaza, dancing and jumping around. it takes awhile, but you get to see everything that is going on and all the hyphy kids do it.
atop the water tankers are people from companies and political parties. they throw out free tee shirts and water bottles and other labeled goods. some also have dance contests. the hooches come out in full force for the contests and the winner usually gets a free phone or something. they even had contests for the boys and girls this year. i saw some 7 year olds shaking it like video twerkers...weird. even weirder? the boys' contest. 4 to 13 year olds were made to dance one by one, but not alone. the grown women promo hoes with their boobs out grinded on them as they danced and their parents cheered them on. oh panama...nighttime
after getting wet all day, you go home to rest and eat dinner. then, you go out again. in the plazas, the reinas come out in a new outfit and on a new float. other reinas and princesas come out to, in polleras (the traditional dress). there are outdoor discotecas all over the place.the most well-known discoteca is PH. it get poppin about midnight and lasts til 4am every night. around 2am, some headliner comes out and performs. the best part is that a bottle of seco (the national liquor) is like $10. i am so over the $80+ bottles at the club back home.
do it!
so basically, carnaval is amazing. water, skimpy clothes, booze, street meat, reinas...AMAZING. i will definitely miss carnaval when i return to the united states of (boring and unfestive) america. and i encourage each and every one of you to go to a carnaval in latin america at some point in your lives. it's pretty tiring, as us americans haven't been prepared for such a long festival of debauchery, but you won't regret it.
