Carnaval - Loulé, Portugal 2014

This past Sunday was the third time we have been to the Loulé Carnaval.

Remember to click on the photo to see a larger image.

The photos are in no particular order - just ones we both like which I think give a flavour of the event.

The morning was cool but mostly sunny. Most of the weather guessers had predicted cloud with a significant chance of rain in the morning and clearing in the afternoon so the morning sun was welcome, but short lived. Clouds began to move in and by the 1:15 pm when we set out for Loulé for the 3:00 pm parade it was overcast, cool and breezy.

By the time the parade began the wind had become lighter and the parade participants, apparently undaunted by the cool, cloudy conditions, were in the mood and ready to go! (even the painted, naked young women, though they must have been at least chilly, were on their float.) And, it didn't rain!

We could guess at what a couple of these floats and figures mean, but, unfortunately, for most we have no idea what their message is.

At this point, just a reminder about Carnaval. It is a pre-lent celebration held in Catholic countries all over the world. In Portugal it is known as Carnaval but similar celebrations in other jurisdiction may use different names such as Mardi Gras, for example.

In Portugal many communities have their own versions of Carnaval on a larger or smaller scale presumably based on the size of the community and the local interest. We have been told that the one in Loulé, a town of about 25,000 people, is one of the larger and better known Canavals in Portugal. 

There are a number of different events during the days approaching the beginning of Lent but the one we are most familiar with is the joyful, colourful, vibrant, noisy and exuberant parades, one on each of three days, which have a theme that usually includes irreverent commentary about political policies and politicians.

The events go on over a period of 4 or 5 days and it is a brief period during which "acting out" a bit is apparently tolerated.

It is said that communities and families put a great deal of time, creative energy and effort into preparing for this celebration - we have also been told that preparation may go on during much of the year. And that all of the work is done by the people of the individual communities.
This child and another, the second to last photo on this post, were beside each other on one of the floats and, as I think you can see, both looked totally bored with the whole thing.

On the other hand, the child below who was not in the parade, was ecstatic about something!

So, all the floats and costumes that we see in the parade and all that goes into creating the parade is the result of the work of individuals and families in the community, in this case Loulé. It's pretty amazing when you realize that not only the floats and personal regalia are made by the community but so are the excellent large "puppet" and float heads which represent the political targets of disparagement!

And, not only the participants in the parade are dressed in colourful costumes;  lots of children and some adults there to watch the parade are in celebratory attire, as you can see in some of the images. This child, for example, was not actually in the parade though her mother surreptitiously, or not so surreptitiously, placed her onto a float (see if you can find her on one of the floats) or, as here, into a gap in the parade.

When we went through the gate into the parade area I was immediately reminded of one of the annoying elements of the parade - namely extremely loud and persistent noise! The voice and music noise level from the loudspeakers is deafeningly loud (even by putting mouth to ear one cannot pass on a message) and it goes on before the parade begins and throughout the duration of the parade.

Though the police, security people and those keeping things moving are prevalent and watchful, there is a remarkably limited amount of restraint on the crowd in moving in and around the floats and parade participants.

So, for those interested in taking photos - and there were many! -  one is pretty free to move about and into the parade route both before and during the parade. There are mini bleacher type seats and benches around and some choose to sit while most seem to stand and walk about as the parade folks and floats make the circuit around a central boulevard for, I think, at least three times, maybe more.

When we were initially in the parade area, and even as the parade began, it seemed very much less crowded than we remember from previous visits, so we were able to move about and find good vantage points easily.

Before too long, however, the number of people had increased dramatically and if you left a spot it was quickly occupied. And more folks were spilling into the parade route for photos or just making their way to a different location. By the time we were ready to leave - we had seen all the floats and performers and the noise was just too much - it took us a while to thread our way through the densely packed boulevard to get to the exit.

I mentioned at the beginning of this missive that this is our 3rd opportunity to enjoy the Loulé Carnaval parade and our impression is that, while it is still extremely well done, the number of floats and other participants are becoming fewer each year. It's such a wonderful tradition one hopes, if our impression is correct, that this is not a trend that continues.

Though in this photo we are leaving there are still many images I would  like you to see, so I'll be back with another post on this Carnaval.