Shake Your Booty & Cover Your Ears: Carnival Parades in Curacao
A couple of things are certainties at Curacao’s Carnival parades. First, you will wait way longer for them to commence with the activities than you had anticipated and second, when they do get around to the parade to-do the initial order of business is to dispense earplugs along the length of the route.
So it went at the Children’s Carnival Parade one Sunday afternoon. It was an event requiring patience waiting in the scorching sun while being pressed up against a metal retaining rail as 
latecomers crowded in. We rationed our water from newly purchased and sweating bottles (because, after all, neither of us wanted to lose our places while searching for a porta-potty.) After a truncated eternity the street began to clear and there appeared, in dazzling canary yellow uniforms with the requisite short skirts, the Insel Air girls with their smiles and ear plugs for the masses. 
All the schools, youth organizations and numerous companies, it seemed, had a presence at the children’s parade. And the theme of the parade was geared to the age; cartoon characters from past and present, including many that we recognized and remembered well. Passing before us were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, The Flintstones, Mickey and Minnie Mouse and other, new characters that were completely unknown.
We discovered quickly enough the reason for the ear plugs. Even before the first child was in sight we noted that spaced generously throughout the parade were 
large mobile sound systems. Multi-tiered, ginormous woofers, tweeters, mid-ranges and bass blasted out live performances of Tumba, Curacao’s unique music, and Calypso or D.J. inspired audio mayhem of rhythm based “shake that thang baby” music. But whether live or Memorex the volume was deafening. Shouting to each other was impossible. We could feel the vibration deep in our ribs and sternum from the bass rattling your bones, maximum decibel, blaring volume.
Curacao has its own unique twist on the pre-Lenten celebrations that originated with the plantation owners and wealthy merchants who threw extravagant and stately balls complete with masks and wigs reflecting the heritage of their homelands. The slaves mimicked the upper crust behavior in their own homes with their songs, folklore and customs. After the abolition of slavery, with 
the enhanced freedom of expression and the rise of a freer, urban working class, the celebrations grew more elaborate and moved from the homes to the streets. Here developed the tradition of today’s Carnival with beauty pageants, Tumba dance competitions, street parties (the jump-ups), private in-door affairs (the jump-ins) and parades that encompassed all the island.
Having enjoyed ourselves with the children’s parade we ventured to the Banda Bou Parade in the town of Barber the following Saturday. We were instructed to get there a couple of hours early as it was heavily attended since the Carnival frenzy continued to build as the countdown to sobriety and atonement, Ash Wednesday, was nearing. We arrived at our destination and drove the parade route from the end point towards 
the beginning and were politely, but emphatically, advised with head shakes that various parking spots we eyeballed were reserved as evidenced by a chalk mark, a cinder block or a folding chair. Near the front of the route we found a spot on the side of the road. It was 1:00 PM; the parade, we’d been informed, started around 3:00 PM. And so we sat and watched traffic ebb and flow, watched the Harley scooter contingent rumble through for a few passes, watched the vendors come and go, watched families with excited children, watched the sun cross a cloudless sky, watched the plates of food and Amstel beer and the locally distilled rum concoctions disappear.
Sometime near 4:30, the police finally halted traffic and we waited with sorely tested anticipation. And then, the vivid canary yellow uniforms of the Insel Air beauties were among us again distributing foam hearing protectors with dazzling white-toothed smiles. Shortly afterwards the parade was underway this time with children, teens and adults. The bands and Tumba dancers, all elaborately costumed, strutted, shimmied and shook as they passed. Behemoth sound trucks, enough to justify the ear plugs, floats and cars with dignitaries and well-wishers rolled past us. And when it was done, we were among the first to lead the trek back down the island in the direction of Willemstad, deafened and carrying on a conversation at much louder levels than usual, happy that we had endured the wait and experienced another Carnival parade.
The next day, Sunday was the finale, the Grandi Marcha Parade, a wild, riotous event for the adults celebrating what we were told was the island’s version of the New Orlean’s Mardi Gras festival that would eclipse all the previous parades. Beginning in the late afternoon and extending well into the night it’s the city’s big blow out with the dancing, drinking and raucous partying so excessive that the day after is a national holiday, a day of recovery if you will.
Call us weenies with no sense of adventure but … we skipped it!
By Richard and Anita
That looks colourful. From your description it sounds loud too – not sure I’d like that bit quite so much!
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These parades were LOUD and full of bold color, movement and fun. For visitors it can be somewhat overwhelming but it’s certainly worth attending some of these local celebrations and watching the people, dancing and fun.
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Loved the colors – they are so vibrant. We visited in the quiet of July! NO parades. I would have only attended one of the days. The “potty” thing is always a problem for me!! Additionally, you truly captured the heart of the people – I love the smiles in every photo!
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We’re always attracted to bright colors and these parades didn’t disappoint us – the colors were and costumes were fabulous. Watching the enjoyment and fun of the participants was another part of our fun and it wasn’t hard to ask for a dazzling smile to be aimed our way!
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Love, love, love all that color! Must have been such a thrill. We have the same kind of festivals in the Philippines but I haven’t been to these Central and South American ones that look and sounc so much more!
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We’ve seen several parades in Mexico, Central and South America and they all seem to have loud music and wonderful costumes regardless of the occasion, religious versus secular, for the festival. Going to the parades is a great way to learn about the people and the celebrations as well as enjoy the colors and noise. We’ll look forward to attending a parade in the Phillipines when we travel there.
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I love the colors, the sounds, and the whole spectacle! The faces all look so happy – what a fun experience. We’ve been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans a few times, but this part you’ve shown looks LOTS more family friendly, lol!
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These celebrations were definitely a lot more family friendly than Mardi Gras in New Orleans although the grand parade, the finale of Carnival which occurs at night, is a raucous affair for those who like lots to drink and have the stamina to imbibe freely! We’re much more laid back and like the kids and day parades which, while loud, are much more at our tolerance level!
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WoW! If the colours are only half as loud as the music I’m amazed (even with ear plugs) that your ear drums survived!
Aren’t they magnificent – luminous orange, lime green and iridescent yellows – And the head dresses are superb 🙂
I have to confess I had to look up on Google maps to see where Curacao was… and then found your post telling the tale of how you ended up here… with the map! What a location! 😀
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Our ear drums have recovered (without any permenent damage we hope) and we’re back to speaking at normal levels. The noise and vibrant colors were amazing and the costumes were much more elaborate than what we expected. The parades have been just one of the things we’ve enjoyed on our unplanned visit to this amazing island.
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Thanks for word and photo painting such a vivid representation of the carnival parades you attended. I’m not sure I’d be up for standing in the hot sun and needing ear plug, so this post is probably as close as I’m going to get. Why don’t they just tone it down so people don’t need ear plugs? Am I dropping my cultural baggage all over the place?
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It’s hard not to carry some cultural baggage! We’re used to the heat and always carry a bottle of water, hats and the expectation that we’ll be sweating buckets right along with everyone else. The swirl of the parade and colors, the frenzied dancing and the loud rhythmic music really makes the experience intense but very fun!
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Your images are filled with vibrant color! What a lovely parade. I’ve been to Curacao, but unfortunately missed this.
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As you may have guessed we are attracted to anything bright and shiny and we loved the brilliant colors that we found on Curacao. The parades were a stroke of luck since we had no idea that carnival was celebrated with such enthusiasm and gusto here on the island.
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Such beautiful photos – and the colours are amazing! Sorry to be repetitious, but what else can one say except that I am so jealous …
And I so understand the ‘past our bedtime’ – it’s often a deal-breaker for us too!
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Thanks Yasha, We’re so glad you liked the amazing and vibrant colors as well as the pics. As for the “past our bedtime,” there’s just not a lot that competes with a pillow about 10 pm. Sometimes makes us feel very old…!
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I love all the colourful costumes. My husband and I recently marched in a parade with a group we belong to. I’d forgotten what fun parades are – whatever the reason.
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How fun to see a parade from the participant’s viewpoint and wave at all those watchers. Hope the weather you marched in was cooler than what it was for the carnival parades here!
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The colors, costumes, and beautiful faces are fantastic! Seems like a viewer couldn’t help but feel happy!
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We have to agree. There’s something about the swirl of the brilliant colors, the dancing and the music that just make you happy to be there!
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Love the colour, would love the noise, would love the spectacle. This has us written all over it. Loved it.
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So glad that, like us, you find parades like this appealing and something you would enjoy seeing. We always look for local events and celebrations which are such a fun way toget a glimpse of the culture, traditions and people.
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What a blaze of color and movement. I’m glad the noise didn’t accompany your report, however. 🙂 The costumes, particularly those of the children, are so wonderful. Looks like you were fortunate to get a great vantage point. Like you, we would have skipped the after party, old fogies that we are.
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The costumes were beautiful and much more elaborate than what we expected. We saw some of the costumes by chance a few days after the parades as they were being cleaned and repaired and were amazed at how heavy they were. Several of them were quilted which must have been extremely hot and uncomfortable in this tropical heat!
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I feel as if I attended the carnivals right beside you. You could always use the excuse for not attending the last carnival and say that it was your day of atonement and sobriety. What a parade! Dazzling! What surprises me the most is they handed out foam ear plugs! Incredible.
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We’re so glad that you felt like you were there with us. I like your idea of our piety as an excuse for bowing out of the last parade – it sounds so much better than we were afraid the party might be too wild for us!
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Glad to hear you survived Carnival!!!! Looks like a great parade. Wonderful pictures!!!! I love all the bright, vivid colors. Thanks for the wonderful post.
Suzi
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We did indeed survive the parts of Carnival we chose to participate in. But… wish we’d been braver as we heard the last parade was awesome. However, the parade was way past our bedtime and a lot more raucous than what we’re used to!
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