Carnaval

Carnaval, also known as Fat Tuesday, Carnival, or Mardi Gras, is a last hoorah before the fasting season of Lent and is a popular holiday in Catholic countries. This year, Carnaval fell on February 28th, but in Ecuador we celebrated February 25-28th and it also marked the beginning of vacations for university students.    Traditional Carnval celebrations in Ecuador involve a city-wide water and foam fight. This is also the tradition in some parts of Peru, but other than that I am unaware of any other place in the world that does this. Apparently in the past, if you walked outside in Quito during Carnaval you expected to get wet. Currently, every city in Ecuador celebrates a little differently, but in Loja the water and foam fight is alive and well. The etiquette of the fight, however, depends on the group of people with whom you “play Carnaval.” I played Carnaval with some of the university professors, and we stood in a circle and got dunked one by one. I also played with some of my younger host cousins in Loja, and it was a free for all in the yard. However, this only lasted about 20 minutes because it was cloudy and 60 degrees and the water was cold (they use the Quichua word achaychay here instead of brrrrr).

My host cousins and me after playing Carnaval

  The best day was when we went to the neighboring town of Catamayo to go to a concert. Weather in Catamayo is usually sunny with temperatures in the 80’s, and so it was perfect to play Carnaval. There was an outdoor concert where everyone danced salsa and sang along. Complete strangers would throw water at each other and raise the foam cans in the air and spray everyone around them.   

Pure joy

 

My friend, Mario, and me

  It was unlike any event I have ever attended, but it was so much fun. Even though I was with a group of friends, it was still a very communal event with complete strangers randomly dunking and spraying each other. People of all ages play Carnaval, maybe in different capacities but everyone participates. To me, it is another example of the carefree mentality of having fun in Ecuador. People are not worried about getting wet or dirty, and they uninhibitedly interact with both friends and complete strangers. Carnaval has been my favorite holiday here so far, and I am so glad I got to participate in this singularly cultural event.