It's Carnival season!

While up North we freeze, down in the South of the continent is Carnival season! So, here are a few survival tips to navigate this celebration successfully…

How to survive Carnivals (in Latin America)?

1. Pick your costume or a nice swimsuit: in some countries of Central and South America, February can be one of the warmest months of the year. This is the time to dress-up in fantasy costumes and take the streets, or get into your swimsuit and head to the beach.
2. Be prepared to dance: no matter how good of a dancer you are, just be ready for it. I never learned to dance Samba –carnival’s anthem-, but I was always prepared to hide or run away from it. 
3. Be prepared to drink, a lot: Carnival is meant to be a wild celebration; you should surrender to the “pleasures of the flesh” during those 4-5 days before the beginning of the Lent. Good enough reason to party and drink!
4. Enjoy the entertainment: Carnivals are celebrated throughout Latin America. You’ll see all the main streets of all main cities and towns beautifully decorated. In some cases, like Brazil, it takes almost a year to put everything together. No matter where you are, you’ll see colourful floats, parades and costumed dancers taking public streets.

   

   Barranquilla's Carnivals, Colombia

5. Practice your Portuguese: I can’t write this post without mentioning Rio de Janeiro, the Carnival world capital, and worthy of its world record. This is the 5-day celebration we all aim for, and the best example of what it means to us. It all sums to samba, costumes and magnificent floats. No matter where you celebrate Carnival in Latin America you’ll hear and you’ll want to sign samba –you can start practicing with the word “caipirinha”. 

Here is a short demonstration...