My trip to Colombia I knew from the start was different from my trips to Jamaica and Costa Rica. I was first going to be landing in the city of Pasto to help celebrate Carnaval de Blancos y Negros which means Black and White Carnival. This carnival celebrates a slave revolt in 1607, and when African Slaves demanded a day of freedom. As I walked out onto the streets, it was amazing. There were floats all over with dragons and many other mythical creatures. The floats were absolutely enormous! Many of the floats had huge masks attached to the front of faces of different skin colors, which was representing the clash of the black and white skin tones. There were dancers dancing to all different kinds of folk songs and doing dance moves with their partners. As I walked more towards the back of the parade to see more, there were even more floats bigger than the others. There was one float which looked like it had over ten or fifteen different huge masks covering it which was going by the crowd who were standing to the side cheering like crazy. As we moved down the street there was a huge party of dancers moving towards us. They had elaborate costumes with wings and feathers sticking out every which way. Carnaval de Blancos y Negros I think was very thrilling for me because I had always heard of the elaborate Carnivals which took place most famously in Rio, and this celebration gave me a little taste of what it might have been like to participate in a Carnival. To top off the parade, there was a marching band of what looked like tons of people all lined up perfectly and in rhythm to each other. When the 2nd day of the carnival was ending I was very tired and ready to go back to my hotel. I didn’t eat any supper as I was stuffed from a few hours ago. Just thinking about the pig, spiced meats, and stews I had to eat for lunch still makes my mouth water.
 |
| Some of the different masks worn during Carnaval de Blancos y Negros |
 |
| One of the many large floats made for Carnaval de Blancos y Negros |
 |
| The city of Pasto, Colombia |
No comments:
Post a Comment