Carnaval
The pre-Lenten festival of parades, costumes and music, at its greatest in Brazil.
Also: carnival, mardi gras
Carnaval is the festival that comes before Lent, in February or March, with parades, costumes, dancing and street parties across Latin America and the Caribbean. In Rio de Janeiro, samba schools spend a year preparing floats, costumes and songs to compete in the Sambadrome, while in Salvador the crowds follow trios eletricos through the streets, and in Olinda giant puppets and frevo dancers fill the lanes. Trinidad, Barranquilla, Oruro and Montevideo have their own versions, with soca, cumbia, devil dances and candombe drums. It grew from European carnival and African and Indigenous traditions, and is the people's festival.
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean