Carnival

Carnival is a pre-Lent celebration that date back to the time of the Spanish conquest. Originally it was celebrated during the days previous to Lent. Today, it takes place in February and the first few days of March. Carnival is a popular festivity in the Dominican republic with every town has its own characteristic costume.

Carnivals have a Christian meaning, totally linked to the Holy Week and represents the abstinence of carnal pleasure. The habit of wearing masks and costumes has been practised by man for a millenium, and has a magic sense in its origin. Carnivals in the Dominican Republic have been described by many as the best and most attractive. Celebrations held in Santiago and La Vega are the most important ones regarding tradition and popularity. Santo Domingo's Carnival is the center of the official activities.

The most famous are:

The carnival of Santiago, where the "lechones" pepineros and joyeros (from the neighborhoods of Los Pepines and La Joya) dance and make their bells jingle and their whips crack on the floor to scare the passersby. There is also the voluptuous "robalagallina", a man disguised as a fat woman.

In La Vega, the "diablos cojuelos" get out of their caves filled with music and animation to parade along the streets and impress everyone with their spectacular costumes.

In the Puerto Plata carnival, seashells and sea join the ancestors' legacy and become the "taimácaros"

Finally, the Santo Domingo Carnival is a magnificent cultural extravaganza, a melting pot of every city and town in the country where you can appreciate the different traditions and costumes of every one of them, and where the elaborate carriages parade together with the more or less organized groups that together give Carnival its distinct color.