The celebration of Carnaval in my province of Bolívar is one of the most renowned in Ecuador. Here's a little about my experience with it in the last two years!
Carnaval is a massive celebration in Bolívar with multiple parades, dances, concerts, and fireworks. There are thousands of people that come to visit the capital of Guaranda for the celebrations. Part of the celebration is to use foam cannisters, water balloons, water guns, tinted powder, and in some cases eggs or flour to spray other people!
This was my second year celebrating carnaval in Latin America and it’s a truly unique holiday. Since we don’t celebrate it in the United States, I didn’t know what to expect, but overall, it’s a multi-day celebration filled with parades, parties in the streets, and concerts. There is a lot of food, drinking, dancing, and overall festiveness.
Around 80% of Ecuadorians identify as Catholic, and Catholic influence and culture from the Spanish remain very present in many aspects of life. Lent is a 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and charitable giving observed by Christians in preparation for Easter. The religious aspect of it is that it’s a celebration of the few days before Lent begins in the Roman Catholic faith on Ash Wednesday.
