Carnival in Panama

New Orleans gets Mardi Gras. Panama, along with other countries with large Catholic populations, gets Carnival. And that is exactly what is going on right now in Panama. Until Wednesday much of the country is shut down for festivities including the crowning of a queen, music and dancing. This event is our first time experiencing and one we have been hearing about since we moved down. Carnival is a festival that occurs before Lent and ends when Lent begins.

Interesting enough, Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" in reference to eating rich and fatty food before Lent. The entomology for Carnival is disputed. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lent, it is a time of self-cleansing in which people often fast. This event happens for 40 days and nights until Easter. The purpose of Carnival is to consume any remaining alcohol and/or foods that may go against the traditions of Lent.

While I know it is not a necessity with modern day freezers and food preserving technology, the origins and purpose of this event are important and interesting. And this is where our mystery begins with what to expect from this year. All that I heard about Carnival was that there is music, dancing, and people get sprayed with water.  When I looked it up I saw pictures expected a wild party.

Carnival in Las Tablas, Panama which is where
one of the biggest events occur in Panama.

After seeing the picture above, I was certain this is how it would be everywhere. I was wrong and it turns out this is what it looked like Saturday in our small village. Surely this is what I might expect in our small village of a few thousand people, but it can't be this small everywhere.

With these awesome little holders we got Robert and I packed our valuables and headed to meet our friends and head to Carnival together in a larger town (at least compared to our village) located about 20 minutes away.

Three zippers to keep things dry

They worked surprisingly well

When we got to Carnival this is what the scene was like. 

It was exactly how Carnival was described: dancing, water, music. Carnival can be described in few words: simple, and fun. The event in this town literally all took place by these two water trucks. It was hard to imagine something so simple being fun, but it was and people of all ages were there to enjoy the festivities. 

Having glasses and/or a hat seemed to prove beneficial at times when you got sprayed but the water. If you did not have sun glasses venders were near by with a selection for your choosing. If you were hungry you could buy this for food. Common food from vendors is a hotdog wrapped around a stick. Americans call it a hot dog, Panamanians call it chorizo. Again, the chorizo is another reminder of the beauty of how simple such a big event can be. The party stopped around 2:00pm. People went back to their homes and still partied, but this area was no longer the center of the festivities.

I know this is probably not like how it is everywhere in Panama or how it is around the world. However, the festival that we went to made for a good time. Carnival was fun and lived up to the hype. It not at all what I expected, although honestly, I was not sure what to expect; although it was simplicity of what I saw. This experience was very memorable. Until next year!