Carnival began last night.
The whole nation shuts down for a party until Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday.
The news programs have been full of stories on "how to survive carnival" (as in don’t get drunk and then go swimming in the ocean), people who pawn their electronics to raise money to spend, how there are no rental cars or hotel rooms in the entire country available, and man on the street interviews with people saying what they will do for Carnival.
For example: How to get ready for Carnival
The national bus terminal was a jammed as O’Hare or Atlanta airport on the Wednesday before thanksgiving.
This celebration is bigger than Christmas.
People gather in the streets during the day, fire trucks hosing people down with water. They stay up all night partying. Various towns have parades with floats like the Rose Bowl parade.
Beauty pageants around the country have been selecting "queens" and all the barrio queens competed last night for the title of Queen de Carnival. (photo from La Prensa, Carlos Lemos).
Curfews have been suspended, the President has gone on vacation, the National Guard has been activated, and the Health Ministry has been restaging medical supplies around the country to hospitals. (Source: Panama-Guide.com, a great source of information for English Speakers about panama — I’ve met Don and have appreciated his help here).
Leave a Reply