Carnaval
We were lucky enough to catch the end of the Carnaval celebration in San Pedro, which is a week-long celebration
before Lent full of parades and dancing that ends with everyone covered in paint! Walking around local neighborhoods
earlier in the day, we passed some children covered in paint, but didn't know what to make of it. When we saw a neighbor
pouring house paint into a water bottle, we asked why, and she explained the tradition. We walked to the dock in town that
night, which was the center of the party. There was food and games, dancing to music spun by a DJ, an people
throwing paint at each other
from water bottles. Local businesses hung plastic to protect their
storefronts from the paint. As you can see from the pictures, the locals were braver than us.
Although we missed the parades, we visited the San Pedro House of Culture, whose seasonal
exhibit was about Carnaval.
We got to see pictures of the parades we had missed, the wonderful dresses that the men traditionally wear, and examples of
the masks and jewelry worn by parade participants.
