Carnival in Gueleguaychú: A Parade for Adults, Designed By People on Drugs
Written by Kyle on Sunday, March 01, 2009 in Argentina
Feelin' amused
Wow, I don't even know how to begin with describing a Carnival parade. From what I could best tell of the parade in Gualeguaychu, Argentina it is some sort of mix of cirque du soleil and a stripper show with some beer and super repetitive music thrown in.Feelin' amused
For any Carnival novices out there (myself included), the deal behind Carnival it is to get your party on before the 40 days of Lent. There are parades, people wear maquerade style costumes, and you imbibe. Wikipedia tells me that the word literally means "meat is allowed" (as opposed to Lent when christians don't eat meat). If you have a frat-guy vocabulary, you'll understand that there was plenty of meat to be had.
The Tourists
That would be us. But this time, we're joined by Woong and Greg, some other travelers that we met passing through Buenos Aires. Carnival is definitely enjoyed more by the more people you are with and especially by fun people like these two. Plus, they were good motivation for us to keep partying all night instead of getting one of those "hotel room" thingys. We'll sleep when we get older.
The crew hanging out on the parade route; having fun in the stands
Greg and I posing with the wusses sleeping in the bus terminal
The Atmosphere
Party all the time, party all the time, party all the time. It's all about having fun and if you're not there to have fun, you've come to the wrong place. The performers in the parade know this and they're very keen to get people excited about the night, whether it be by interacting with the crowd, or by shaking the booty that much harder.
To my surprise, the crowd was really fun without getting out of control. Sure, occasionally there were the drunk people running around the parade and getting their photos snapped with some of the performers, but it was all innocent. People seemed to just want to have a good time and weren't out to do any harm.
Bessie posing with a performer; A perfomer posing with some guy in a wig
The Music
If it's one thing that Carnival needs, it's better music. It's kind of like singing row,row,row your boat, but with words about Carnival. For instance, there is one song where all the words are "Quiero, quiero Carnaval. Todo la noche, Carnaval!" (I want, I want Carnival. All night, Carnival!) Over and over and over. Although, while we can't get the song out of our head now and want to remove it with some sort of blunt instrument, during the parade, we had no problem singing and dancing along with it. Maybe that has something to do with the beer.
The Costumes
Wow. If you ever think that what you wear for Halloween might be too risque, you would be wrong. I've never seen so many inventive ways to show nudity without showing the "naughty" parts. If you think about all of the parts that are generally banned, it comes down to a couple of small areas, so the inventive constume designers have found ways to basically show every thing else while covering up those little areas that can't be shown.
It's cultural!!!
More excellent culture
Chill out, there's naked dudes, too
Of course, it's not all about sexy outfits, there are some that are quite elaborate. The size of some of the costumes is so big that we could see the performer underneath it, struggling under the weight. They do a good job of putting on a happy face about it, but you could tell it was some decent work hauling around some of the creations.
The Floats
Man, I don't think I can see a float at most American parades anymore without comparing it to these. There were some amazing ones with an oriental theme, or a "joker" theme, or african theme. A couple had live 10 piece bands playing (or pretending to be playing) and some were being pushed down the street by teams of men. On top of that, most of the floats had people (not one, multiple) standing on platforms 20 feet in the air and dancing around. At first we were scared for their lives as the float tended to shake when they danced, but we got used to it.
The Video
What, did you think we would see this and not let you in on the experience? Of course not! Check out the video:
What, did you think we would see this and not let you in on the experience? Of course not! Check out the video:
Comments on "Carnival in Gueleguaychú: A Parade for Adults, Designed By People on Drugs"
it is funny that way! Christmas, NYE, and Valentine's Day are all in the middle of summer down there - so strange!!!
amazing pictures!!
You guys need to stop in Philadelphia on January 1...Our new year's day Mummers Parade has very elaborate costumes like that. But no naked people! Sorry!
No naked people?! What kind of parade doesn't have naked people?
Thank you for taking/sharing these fabulous pictures. They are awsome!!
Fabulous costumes and amazing colors! What a fun time! Curious....where do they store these enormous floats until Carnival comes again?? Are they sponsored by a business or organization like the fantastic Rose Bowl floral floats? Glad you were there for this unique event.
Hard to understand for us northern hemisphere types this is summer where you here. We are use to this happening in winter.
by Julian at March 05, 2009 09:56 PM