The Carnaval de Cadiz dates back to at least the 16th century and it was influenced by the Genoese merchants that moved to Spain in the 15th century, reason why we find things in common with the Italian carnival, like the use of masks and confetti.
However, even though we find some similarities with other famous carnivals, the Carnaval de Cadiz is special. Cadiz has something that no place in the world has and that is envied by the rest of Spain: its sense of humor. The ability to make you laugh at absolutely everything, even at the things you would not picture yourself laughing at. Carnaval is just proof of the way gaditanos (people from Cadiz) live their lives: celebrating every day, finding the positive aspects of every inconvenience, fighting injustice and standing up for what they believe in. This is why, with time, this celebration has become the perfect way to satirize society, criticize politics and complain about the events that make people’s lives difficult while using music, comedy and entertaining people in a healthy way. The best representation of this uniqueness is displayed during the Cadiz official contest of groups at the Gran Teatro Falla, where over a hundred groups compete during almost an entire month, from mid-January to mid-February, in four different categories based on the style of the group: chirigotas, comparsas, cuartetos and coros. Every person that follows the contest looks forward to seeing what “tipo” (costume) each group is wearing and what political and current news they are going to highlight in their lyrics, which are the two things that usually determine who wins. This competition has become such a huge event in Spain that participants come from all over the country and sometimes even from other countries!
Once the competition is over and the best groups are chosen, the real party begins and it is time to put on a funny costume and join the street celebrations that take place during the second half of February. If you walk around the streets of Cadiz during those days, you will understand more about the idiosyncrasy of the people of Cadiz and you will definitely have a blast! You will find many people on the streets eating, drinking, singing and enjoying the music of the different groups that parade around the city, including the “ilegales” (the “unofficial” groups). The costumes are the most important aspect of the carnival of Cadiz, so it is kind of an unwritten rule to wear one.
The Carnaval de Cadiz has become one of Spain’s cultural gems by joining Andalucia’s cultural heritage list and Spain’s list of festivals of international tourist interest.
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2023 04:46 |
| Story ID: | 437348 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 302 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, February in Cadiz is a Month-long Party… It is Carnaval time!, by Alejandra Tirapu Lucero, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
