A thousand kids dressed up to march around Jerez de los Caballeros last Friday. Each class wore a themed costume. For Carnaval, kids and friends dress up as groups. This is a far cry from my creative costumes for Halloween, but it did ensure a feeling of unity — each person was part of a group and no one was left out. Even the teachers dressed up.
Watch a bit of the procession and get some costume ideas for next year (:55)
My friend Joe and I headed to Salamanca for the weekend, which was not a big Carnaval hot spot like Cadiz or Badajoz. They celebrate more in the South than they do up in Castile and Leon region or other northern regions of Spain. However, I was able to catch the parade in Jerez before I headed off on my own Carnaval adventure.
Whistles were part of ALL of the costumes. Every kid had one.
Under the sea
The Little Mermaid
More sea creatures
The Parade passed right past my street. Even if I had wanted to sleep in, it wouldn’t have been an option with the chorus of whistles outside my window. It was really not an option to miss this, and the seeing the kids dressed up filled my cute quotient for the year. I was pretty jealous of my friend who is teaching in an elementary school — he dressed up and marched with the kids.
Happy Carnaval!