Carnaval is a very popular holiday celebrated here in Spain. Spain is home to some of the best celebrations in the world – particularly in Tenerife and Sitges. I did not see either of these carnavals, but I did get to see how the average family in Spain celebrates carnaval in their cities. I saw two different celebrations: Cos Blanc in Salou and Carnaval in Tarragona.
Cos Blanc
Cos Blanc takes place (usually) on the first weekend in February. Easter is earlier than normal this year, so it happened on the last weekend in January. Cos Blanc is a celebration in Salou, a small beach town known for its nightclubs and crazy British tourists that come and destroy the town during the summer. Cos Blanc is the locals’ celebration, though.
Basically, Cos Blanc is a giant parade made up of different “collas” (groups of people who have a common interest). They have big floats and a theme, for example, pirates, space, and Aladdin. Most people walk in front of the floats and dance to the music that is blaring from their floats. Most floats also have a beer tap that they use to give each other beer. There are (mostly) kids (and some adults) that ride on the floats and wave at you … but with a catch: they also throw mounds of confetti at you.
It doesn’t take long until you have been showered with confetti! The streets become filled with it, giving the illusion of snow. The kids who are watching the parade love to gather up the confetti and throw it at each other. Some people even save the confetti, although what they will do with it later, I have no idea. More confetti fights? I feel sorry for whoever has to clean that up!
The parade took about two hours and it was cool to see the people who just enjoy doing it because it’s their tradition unique to their city. I was still finding confetti on me for a few days, but I didn’t have it as bad as some people who got it in their jacket hoods and hats.
Cos Blanc is also known for the partying people do after the parade. However after eating dinner, we realized we were about eight years older than everyone else. I felt like the mom who shows up to the kids’ party (i.e. Amy Poehler in Mean Girls). Needless to say we were on the bus back home to Tarragona before it got too late.
Tarragona Carnaval
The most popular way to celebrate Carnaval in Spain is to have a parade with fabulous costumes and sassy dances. The spectators dress up in costumes, like we do on Halloween. (I didn’t dress up, but I did wear my Peyton Manning jersey since the Broncos were in AND WON the Super Bowl the next day.)
The parade consisted of about thirty different groups. They have a few songs that they dance to and they have a theme. Some of the groups are dance studios, while other groups are just the local neighborhood groups coming together and dancing for carnaval. I wasn’t sure what I would think of it, but I really enjoyed carnval. It reminded me of my cheerleading days a bit and I found myself critiquing some of the groups – not sharp enough, needs to smile, etc.
My favorite group was Nou Ritme (pronounced “No Reet-ma). They had a 1700s royalty theme. It’s really hard for me to describe what they looked like because words can not do them justice. So here is a picture.
In fact, I don’t think words are enough to describe the event. It is something that needs to be experienced. Last year, I didn’t attend because I became very sick, so it wasn’t until this year that I understood Carnaval. My host family belonged to a group and it was very cool to see their final outcome after all the hard work they had put forth into Carnaval this year.
Now that I have experienced Carnaval here, I think it would be really cool to see it in other places. Sitges, a small town just outside of Barcelona is famous for their Carnaval because it’s known for the gay pride and drag queens. It’s supposed to be a phenomenal parade. I know someone who went to Villanova i Geltru and they throw candy at each other. Tenerife in the Canary Islands has a grand parade and they have the “Gala Reina” where the girls compete with dresses bigger than the size of a car. And of course, it would amazing to see the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.
The people here don’t understand when I say we don’t celebrate Carnaval in the United States (unless you celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans). I’m glad to have had an opportunity to experience this event because it was something a lot of people back home have never seen before.
