Carnival Dates

• Venezuela Carnival
  2/1/2008 - 2/5/2008
  Venezuela
  More Details...
  

About Carnival in Venezuela

Carnival is one of the most anticipated and celebrated event of the year in Venezuela. It usually takes place in the month of February as it takes place forty days before Easter Sunday. Coastal town and provinces celebrate carnival much more fervently these days than any place in the country. Venezuela regard carnival about the same way they regard Christmas and Semana Santa (Holy Week; the week before Easter Sunday) when they take the opportunity to visit their families and enjoy this festive time with them.

Venezuelans use ballons to celebrate carnival as these balloons contain water rather than air and are thrown at each other. Sometimes this is a dangerous thing as some people place the balloons in their freezers and the water becomes ice, and therefore very dangerous.

El Callao is a town which was founded in 1853 and first was called Caratal. It was a founded by foreigners such as Americans, British and French seeking gold. These people brought black people as slaves to do most of the work but they nevertheless forget their racial, social and hierarchal differences and have a jolly time, partying fervently. Carnival has now become a four-day event in El Callao and people, especially black people do dress-up extensively in lavish outfits. Venezuela even though it is at the tip of South America has great influence from the Caribbean islands, especially Trinidad, which is just eight miles away at the closest spots.

Los Tambores de Bariovento is a town that has a large black population due to the coffee and banana plantations that existed there in the colonial period. Thus carnival there use drums as their main theme which are complimented by various other wooden instruments which are mostly of African origin.

Los Diablos de Yare encompasses several cities and states and their carnival is celebrated with devils and horns. These devils are paying penance and the number of horns that these devils wear show the number of sins for which they are paying. These celebrations take place during the celebration of Corpus Christi and it is not surprising that most Venezuelans are of the Catholic denomination.

Sponsored Links