Carnaval o carnaval!
Carnival in Boa Vista is a serious thing. Like the Brazilian one, it is very heartfelt and participated in: perhaps the most important collective event. Although in Cape Verde the largest and most sumptuous remains that of Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente.
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And like the famous Rio Carnival, it originates from the Portuguese festival of Entrudo , which was celebrated between Epiphany and the beginning of Lent.
The Mindelo Carnival is the liveliest in the archipelago. Over time it has assimilated the characteristics of the Brazilian Carnival and has become an event with its own characteristics, one of the most mediatic events on the island.
São Vicente was the last island to be colonized by the Portuguese, who were looking for fertile lands to increase their agricultural production. Here they founded the town of Mindelo in the 19th century, populating it with the last slaves and new generations of Creole mestizos. The brightly colored colonial buildings are now the backdrop to one of the richest cultural life in the country, and host the oldest and most colorful carnival in Cape Verde.
Madness of “Carnaval na Bubista”
Here, as on the other islands, carnival is a real passion.
Each neighbourhood of Sal Rei and the neighbouring villages present a theme to the organising committee and then work in great secrecy to prepare floats, costumes, choreography, music and dancing.
On Shrove Tuesday , which this year falls on March 4 , the streets of Sal Rei come alive with celebration and the competition begins, with parades to the sound of Cape Verdean music and the accompaniment of the batucadores ‘ percussion , triggering joy and wild dancing. The city fills with festive and incandescent atmospheres, in a mix of chaotic din, joy and morabeza . It is a moment of euphoric and collective liberation, an important part of the Cape Verdean soul, which reaches its peak during the carnival.
Each neighborhood or village of Boa Vista has its own Bloco , led by dancers, often brightly colored children, who with the sound of drums announce the arrival of the float or the main choreography. It is a riot of bright and colorful costumes , with dances and music. The “Raina da bataria” closes the bloco parade .
The parade takes place in the main street of the town, usually starting from the sports center where the blocos gather. It goes all the way down the street to gather in the square where the awards ceremony will take place , and where in the evening there are musical groups. Throughout .the day people follow the floats, drink and eat chicken wings and grilled pinchos, but above all they all have fun together , in an atmosphere that really makes you understand what morabeza means
Throughout the week before Shrove Tuesday, from February 21 to March 3, various events take place in the plaza near the CAC (Art and Culture Center) . Local live music groups perform on stage, accompanied by dancers, batucada and Mandingas . At the CAC there is also a special exhibition with the aim of introducing the public to works that celebrate Carnival. Friday, February 28 is the official opening of the Carnival with the schools’ parade through the streets of Sal Rei.
