Festivals of South America | Carnival Season
Noisy, colourful and raw, the Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is probably the most known for its samba schools and its thousands of visitors. But what many do not realise is that all of South America is adorned with their finest colours under the sound of drums throughout the carnival month of February.
Being considered a great social liberation in South America, Carnival is specific to each country, region and city. Hundreds of festivals across the continent show culture and personality through vibrant and powerful music as well as costumes that are more or less showing off, making this festivity an excellent time to discover new cultures.
Having planned to start our travels in Patagonia at the end of February, we could not be in Rio de Janeiro for its Carnival. So we decided to make our way down south from Brazil, following the local carnivals. Our route would bring us through Encarnacion in Paraguay, Montevideo in Uruguay, and Buenos Aires in Argentina.
During the month of February, we had the chance to attend 3 different types of carnivals.
Carnival in Encarnacion, Paraguay: the cheap Rio!
Rio knows how to do Carnival at best, but the small town of Encarnacion has nothing to envy. According to the locals, the carnival of Encarnacion is much noisier and offers more skin than Rio! it is also much more affordable and less touristy. The entrance fee varies between €7 and €12 for the standard entry (40000 to 70000 Gs). The accommodation and the food are also a great deal here.
A night of music and Samba!
Just like in Rio de Janeiro, the Encarnacion Carnival is a competition between different Samba dance schools that train and prepare costumes and floats throughout the year. The groups present their choreography on multiple occasions, every Fridays and Saturdays over the month of February. The parade is a combination of very colourful floats that advance to the rhythm of Samba and dancers to the side of a queen clothed in long feathers and bright “underwear”.
They all try to smile as well as not to show fatigue that seizes them with every movement. During their “break” we see on their face the heaviness of their magnificent plumages and the pains inflicted by their high heels. But it is necessary to make good poses, it is necessary to hold, it is necessary to dance the samba, to represent the club and if possible to win the competition.
Re-live Encarnations Carnival
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The festivities in town and in the crowd
In the stands, we are somewhat intoxicated by the contagious atmosphere and the “leche leche” that we drink (cans of beer being sold as “milk milk”). We dance by the side of locals who seem more passionate about the snow spray that they spread all over the crowd. This concentrated soap carried in a can turns to snowflakes once in the air. The smell goes straight up the throat and looks really toxic!
While at the Sambodrome it is great fun, we, however, regret a little the lack of atmosphere in the city itself during the week. We expected to see the city “preparing” and “vibrating” before the launch of the festivities. But apart from a few shops selling costumes and masks, nothing in Encarnacion shows the carnival season has started.
How to buy tickets for the Carnival of Encarnacion?
For Encarnacion Carnival, it is impossible to buy tickets online. You can only buy from the ticket office at the entrance of the Sambodrome. We recommend buying tickets at the latest the day before as many buses arrive from all over the country and the queue can become very long and the places limited on the day of the parade.
In terms of budget, our daily average spend was €24 each without being careful (meat and beer every single day). Even if Encarnacion has not much to offer, it is a nice place to relax by the beach, eat amazing and well-served barbecue for less than a fiver, learn about the history of Jesuit missions and German immigrants, and it is a great alternative to the Brazilian carnival. Finally, it is only 5 hours away from Iguazu falls by a well-serviced bus route!
Costs and useful info
Exchange rate in February 2017: 1 € = 6095 Gs
Entrance Carnival | There are 6 sectors. We would suggest going to the 3 or 4 to be in the middle of the crowd and see better the parade. Prices go from 40,000 to 70,000 Gs. There are also VIP and premium stands which are more expensive (110 000+ Gs)
More info | http://www.carnavalencarnaceno.com.py (updated a few weeks before the start of the festivities).
Montevideo, the historical Carnival: The Llamadas
Montevideo is known as the city that celebrates Carnival the longest! For 40 days, the Uruguayan capital vibrates with street shows and the samba parades. A great time to go is early February in order to attend the famous “Llamadas“, a parade that praises the Uruguayan African heritage and the rhythm of the “Cadombe”. The carnival is held in the street and can be seen without charge.
What are the Llamadas?
It’s in the neighbourhood of “Barrio Sur” and “Palermo”, the “Cadombe“, a form of music that is today considered a cultural heritage in Uruguay, has been developed by former African slaves brought by Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the mid 17th century. The Cadombe is based on African dance and drum rhythms that were originally used to call one another. Nowadays it is not only a matter of gathering the communities but mainly helping the remembrance of their culture and history.
To know more about the history of Cadombe, check out this very informative website.
The Parade
The parade itself is completely different from what you have probably seen so far. You can genuinely enjoy the familiar atmosphere and the energy of the Comparsa and feel the African heritage through the Cadombe beats, the dancing and the costumes. In opposition to Encarnacion – and we assume Rio – with queens and incredible samba dancers, the participants of the Llamadas have the purpose to share their History and not only showcase the beauty and/or skin…
In fact, each “Comparsa” tells a story through a group of characters. Each is composed of a “Cuerda of Cadombe” (20 to 30 drummers using 3 types of “tambourilles”), a few people waving flags and others holding giant moon and stars, a group of dancers (las Mulatas), an old man (El Escobero), an old mother (la Mama vieja) and finally a Medicine man (El Gremillero).
Re-live the Llamadas in Montevideo
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How to buy tickets for the Llamadas of Montevideo?
It is unfortunately impossible to buy tickets for the Llamadas online. The ticket office opens 3 days before the event, and can only be bought at the ABITAB stores and cost between €5.50 and €20. If you cannot be in Montevideo this much in advance, there are 2 other options for you.
- Book a balcony: This is basically locals people opening their doors to allow tourists join them for a BBQ and beers while benefiting from a bird’s eye view of the parade (with a price to match).
- Watch the parade for free: hang out around the streets and find a spot behind the reserved seats. It won’t be comfortable but nothing forbids you from watching the show. You will probably end up standing on the edge of a window, hanging on to the metal rails while a constant flow of people will pass by you throwing cigarette smoke and wine at you! That’s part of the charm of Carnival in Uruguay.
Costs and Useful information
Exchange rate – as of February 2017 : 1€ = 6095 Ur
Bus from Colonia del Sacramento to Montevideo: 400 Ur (€13.6)
Bus Montevideo to Punta del Diablo: 1236 Ur (€41) for 2 seats
Hostel Viajero – 1296 Ur for 2 bed is a 6 bed-dorm… (€43)
Argentina, the street parties: The Murgas
A “Murga” is a percussion-based rhythm that is usually played live in the streets. Contrary to the Uruguayan Cadombe, the Murga is sung and the lyrics usually criticise corrupt politicians. Historically it was used as popular resistance to dictatorship. In fact, Murgas came to be due to governments banning the South American tradition of carnival. For this reason, they are very popular in Uruguay and Argentina.
While the big carnivals are a show in some countries, it is viewed as a street performance in others, which explains why you will only see this in Argentina. Dressed in high-end hats and a bright and personalized “man-suit” the Murga dancers are mainly very energetic young teenage girls. Behind them, musicians and singers pump out the music for all to dance.
By watching the below video, you will be like us, struck by their moves which involved acrobatic complex aerial movements. Pretty impressive. While all this is happening, kids ran freely spraying foam everywhere, the ground littered with the leftover empty aerosol tins.
Re-live the Llamadas in Montevideo
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Note | Argentina and Chile do not have major carnivals like most Latin American countries. It dates back to the past dictatorships which basically outlawed them and that is why Murgas tend to criticise politicians.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jen – Owner, writer & photographer – has lived for the past 10 years across Oceania and Ireland while also travelling long-term in Latin America, North America and Europe. She has visited more than 60 countries and set foot on every continent in the world!
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I am the girl with the Pink Flower in the head and with the orange and yellow costume!!
Hi Leyla, whooo!! I hope you don’t mind us sharing this photo on our blog to illustrate the beautiful Carnival of Encarnacion. This was one of the highlights of our trip. Your costumes and dances are incredible 🙂