|
CARNAVAL
Many years before the
discovery of the New World, the Catholic Church in Italy began the tradition of
holding a wild costume festival on the eve of the first day of Lent. The
word “Carnival” comes from “Carnevalle” which means “to put away the meat”,
because Catholics were not supposed to eat meat during Lent.
As time passed, Italian carnivals became quite famous, and the practice spread
to France, Spain and other Catholic countries in Europe. As the French, Spanish,
and Portuguese began to colonize the Americas and other parts of the world, they
took their Carnival traditions with them.
In the New World,
carnivals were strongly influenced by ancient African traditions in which
parading and moving in circles through villages while wearing masks and costumes
was believed to bring good fortune, heal problems, and calm angry ancestors who
had passed into the next world.
ACT
I
Calling of the Gods
The moon is always in the sky, the stars accompany the lanterns on the stoops
and the Goddess of the Sea, and the Mother of the Waters ,
Iemanja, slowly spreads her hair out
towards the sea and there is nothing in the world as beautiful.
"The
ocean is large, the sea is a road without end, waters make up more than half the
world, they are three-quarters of it, and all that belongs to Iemanjá. She hears
the prayers of the women of the sea. She embraces all children in her bosom.”
Las
Mudras y su significado (the Mudras and its meaning)
The tradition of a Carnaval dates from 1890 in the city of Cadiz,
Spain. It was originally called Murga Gitana. The Carnival of Cadiz has its
influence from the Middle East dances such as Danza Oriental de Velos (Oriental
dance of Veils) and Gawasi (Danzas folkloricas gitanas) with its roots in India.
“Lo
Sagrado y lo Profano del Brasil” (The sacred and the profane of Brazil)
Danza
de Fuego “Fire Dance”
Trinidad -
Soca and African-Caribbean
Carnival was introduced to Trinidad around 1785, as the French
settlers began to arrive. For African people, carnival became a way to express
their power as individuals, as well as their rich cultural traditions. Today,
carnival in Trinidad is like a mirror that reflects the faces the many
immigrants who have come to this island nation from Europe, Africa, India,
China, African, Asian, and American Indian.
La Vida es
Un Carnaval
The
Queen of Carnaval
ACT II
Spain
and Carnaval
Cadiz, one of
Spanish’s major ports during the XVI century, celebrated carnaval with its
origins in Venice, a city with which it had much trade.
La
Rosa le reza a la Luna (the Rose prays to the Moon)
The Fire
Bird
A Gozar se
dijo – “Let’s party, I say!”
Colombia y el mapale
Colombian Carnaval dates back to the
XIX century and it is celebrated mainly in
the northern coastal city of Barranquilla. It takes place for four days
preceding
Ash Wednesday.
Barranquilla Carnival includes dances like
the Spanish
paloteo, African
congo and indigenous
mico y micas.
Brazil, Samba Frevo, and Forro
Brazilian Carnival has its origins in the
Portuguese celebration. Forty days before Easter, marking the start of Lent.
Roman Catholics, who constitute the majority in Brazil, are to abstain from
bodily pleasures. Carnival is then celebrated as a profane event. The first
Brazilian Carnival started with the first masked ball (citing Parisian
influence) in 1830.
|
