{"id":3302,"date":"2021-01-18T18:46:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T18:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=3302"},"modified":"2021-03-18T11:29:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:29:32","slug":"carnival-parade-in-praia-cape-verde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/carnival-parade-in-praia-cape-verde\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnival parade in Praia, Cape Verde"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There’s nothing like a carnival parade to stir up the emotions. There\u2019s the anticipation among the spectators as they wait for the parade to arrive \u2013 can we see it in the distance yet? The excitement when finally it arrives, with all the colour and spectacle. The joy on the faces of the participants in the parade as they see the reactions. And the slight feeling of let-down when it has passed, seemingly so quickly after the long wait.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In setting this week\u2019s Lens-Artist challenge, with the theme of Emotions<\/a>, Patti reminds us of a quote from great photographer Edward Steichen: ‘Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face’. Anywhere that people gather to celebrate together is a rich source of such images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carnival in Praia<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A couple of years ago, by chance we found ourselves in Praia, the small capital of Santiago in the Cape Verde Islands. on Mardi Gras. While carnival isn\u2019t so much of a big deal on Santiago as it is on some of the other islands, notably Sao Vicente, it is certainly celebrated. This is mainly a local affair, not staged for tourists; the focus is a parade which takes place along Avenida Cidade Lisboa, the main road just north of the old centre. We weren\u2019t sure about the start time (everyone we asked gave a different answer!) But by three o\u2019clock we could hear music from our hotel room, so we set out to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waiting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Arriving at the side of the route we found people just starting to gather. There was music blaring and lots of food stalls, but no parade as yet. We found a good position beside the road to wait. After a while, peering through the growing crowds, we could just make out dancers congregating at the far end although it was clearly going to be some time before they set off. I amused myself meanwhile taking photos of some of the many children who had come along in fancy dress to watch the parade. Some of the kids looked excited, but many were bored<\/strong> by the long wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Girl<\/figure><\/div>
\"Little<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Two
Waiting … will they ever come?<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The prelude<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Eventually the dancers came towards us, but this was clearly just the prelude; it consisted of several groups each representing one of the occupations of Praia – chefs, musicians and others we were unsure of. They seemed proud<\/strong> to be showing off their occupations to the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman<\/figure><\/div>
\"Woman<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After an interval another group of dancers appeared, accompanied by drummers. These seemed to represent the island\u2019s history and African heritage. We found it odd to see black people \u2018blackened up\u2019 like this. And we couldn\u2019t fathom at all the reason for the blue paint sported by others. But it was really colourful and lively, although a very tall male dancer with a long stick rather frightened the little girl next to me. I found out later that these characters probably symbolise the people\u2019s fight against slavery, as similar figures appear in carnivals elsewhere. Those in blue represent devils, mock-beating the others with sticks in what is thought to be a recreation of \u2018work-them-till-they-die\u2019 slavery. Maybe the scared<\/strong> little girl understood more than I realised at the time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man<\/figure><\/div>
\"Boy<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The floats<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There was another pause and then we saw some floats approaching. There were just two of them, but they looked super. The first of them was preceded by lively dancers all dressed in orange. It was decorated to look like three volcanoes, with those on it dressed in flame colours. The lady who stood at the top looked proud and happy<\/strong> to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n