Carnaval

We went to La Vega (about 1.5 hrs away) last night with Alberto and his family to stay with (and meet) his parents and siblings. All of February is Carnaval month, celebrating the independance of the D.R.

This morning there were parades from all of the schools in the city. It took me back to high school dance team all over again, marching in the Starlight Parade with equally horrendous blue outfits. Lots of drums and heat and sun, but it was fun to watch it.

Painted faces

The bottom two pictures didn't turn out amazingly well, as you can see, but basically these people celebrate carnaval every weekend in Feb. wearing these costumes and big masks/headdresses, but always having their faces hidden. On the last day (today) they take off their masks and march once more through the city showing who they really are. They also have some tradition that they carry these big mace-like balls without the prongs and they whack anyone they want...especially tourists and people taking photos. We managed to escape without getting hit, but mainly because I was hiding.