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| oh hey there Mario |
For as long as I can remember mom has always loved watching
the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Parade on tv and we’d usually
be roped into watching with her.
The
closest I’ve ever been to a grand parade was marching with the 5
th
grade band squawking my clarinet in the Cinco di Mayo Parade.
I had heard about the carnival celebrations
in Italy and knew I’d have to check it out somehow. Carnival is usually a month long celebration that occurs before Lent. It has been celebrated in Italy since the 1200s and since the late 1800s in Viareggio. It is meant as a celebration for the towns people to come together and celebrate before Lent. The tradition first started among Catholics. Most people go to Venice to
see old vintage costumes and masks, but it was super expensive to get there so this past Sunday I went an hour and a half by train to the town Viareggio on the West Coast. This was another solo voyage
because everyone else decided they should study for midterms. My philosophy-I’ll
take midterms at least 3 more times in my life, but I will never be 20 years
old living in Italy in February near a city celebrating carnival. I followed the pack of people and noise after
departing the train until I came upon a massive crowd. Now let me paint a
picture of what the crowd looked like-kids in strollers, parents in costumes,
grandparents dancing, dogs jumping, security guards waving. Great mix! These
costumes are similar to what we see in the states during Halloween. Some
personal favorites included the couple in penguin suits, Mickey+Minnie+little
Mickey, Spongebob, Mario, and Snow White with her Prince. The great thing was people of all ages were
dressed up. There was confetti
EVERYWHERE. When you looked down toward the street all you saw was colorful
ripped up pieces of paper. The parade
lasted over 2 hours with huge floats themed everywhere from futuristic Internet
to Scottish Heritage with plenty of political sabotage in between. Every float
was so elaborate with detailed costumes and choreographed dances. There were no
ropes to keep people out of the parade route, but instead people would join in
with their beers singing and dancing.
There were plenty of carnival games and popcorn being tossed around as
well.
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| float |
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| casually flipping off the crowd |
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| the Mickey and Minnie family |
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| welcome to Carnival! |
The setting
was perfect being a city on the beach but nestled at the base of a mountain
chain. Great combination! Overall it was one of the coolest cultural
experiences I’ve had.
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video of the parade
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“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore.”
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