Bang! Bang! The beat of the drums sounded from every angle.
Colors of neon pink and steamers of every shade flew from the tops of buildings. Everyone was dressed from head to toe in costume, concealing their true identities.
People moved to music but were unsure of where it came from. Yes — I survived my very first Carnaval experiences.
I returned to Cadiz, Spain, this past weekend to participate in the worldwide celebration. I didn’t know much of what to expect before getting on my hour-and-half bus ride for the second weekend in a row.
Some of my friends compared it to Mardi Gras in New Orleans or to a smaller version of New Year’s Eve in New York. Both are events that I have never personally experienced, but it put somewhat of a picture in my head.
When we all got off the bus and were able to see the main square, where the parades came from, and people dancing, I could only think of it as a chaotic spectacle.
People hung from lamp posts, and they were covered head to toe in glitter and or dancing in circles all through the main square of the city.
At one point in the night, my group of friends and I ran into a group of men all dressed as Marty McFly from “Back to the Future.” One man dressed as Doc Brown lead the crew in formation behind one of the parades.
It was considered weird if you did not attend Carnaval wearing a costume of some sort.
The guide from the company I used to transport me to and from Seville said the average population of Cadiz is a little over 100,000 inhabitants. During Carnaval, however, this number reaches past 1 million people coming from across Europe to join in the celebration.
There wasn’t a main attraction other than the multiple parades that formed throughout the night. I was part of at least two before our 2:30 a.m. departure.
I didn’t exactly understand what the point of the celebration was until I asked my host mother, who described the religious background of the parties.
The tradition dates back to more than 5,000 years ago as a means to celebrate life before Ash Wednesday, which is focused on repentance. Very few people, according to my host mother, know its origin, but this does not take away from their ability to party and celebrate life.
The night with this magnitude of a celebration is not without its casualties. I lost my hat to my mime costume at one point, my friend’s phone was stolen and sleep deprivation hit all of us way too early in the night.
The consensus of the night from my friends was it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they never had to experience again. The memories were enough to hold on to from the eight hours of pandemonium.
One of my favorite parts, however, was walking into my apartment late at night and feeling right at home, with such a feeling of ease.
This week marks my first official month living in Spain, and I can’t wait for the unlimited opportunities that await me in the next three months. Soon come visits from my parents, travels outside of this country and everything else this adventure of a semester throws at me in the time I have left.
afmaling@indiana.edu
@aly_mali
