CARNAVAL DE GUADELOUPE

This is undoubtedly the archipelago's most important festival, with the whole of Guadeloupe taking part! The Sunday following Epiphany kicks off the festivities, which last until Ash Wednesday. Celebrations go on day and night for weeks on end!

The costumes are nothing short of Brazilian. After Rio de Janeiro and Louisiana, the parades in Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre are said to be the most elaborate. The well-equipped population throngs the city centers and roadsides several hours in advance, to attend the parades. Delays are part and parcel of the festivities, but the spectacle is no less magical! These parades are extremely labor-intensive, with specialized stores and garment workshops working months or even a year in advance. Each group chooses a specific theme, often linked to current events or social issues. There are different types of groups: snare drum groups, real orchestras with shimmering costumes, skin groups with a more ancestral approach, and the Ti Mas, often made up of young people wearing gorilla masks.

A time for letting off steam, Carnival remains the ultimate outlet for differences. During this period, blacks, whites, Indians, Békés and Mulattos all wear masks of anonymity. And, as in the férias of southern France, the desire to be together is unleashed.

The three most important days of Carnival each have a dominant color, which is reflected in the costumes worn by the population.

Jours gras. The great carnival parade that begins on Greas-Saturday, inaugurates Carnival time and keeps the streets busy until Ash Wednesday. On Dimanche-Gras, the parade takes over the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre. On Lundi-Gras, all participants gather in Basse-Terre. On Mardi-Gras, multiple parades parade through several communes. Le Grand Vidé in black and white brings the week's festivities to a close.

Brûlé Vaval. Eight weeks after the start of Carnival comes the "Brûlé Vaval", which signals the end of the festivities on Ash Wednesday: the effigy of Vaval, king of Carnival, is burned at nightfall in Place de la Victoire in Pointe-à-Pitre and other towns, in front of festival-goers dressed in black and white and surrounded by his mourners, who shout, gesticulate and mime grief. The character of Vaval, a giant puppet, changes face every year according to current events. He may represent a public figure, a politician...