Carnival

The Carnival festival is held all over the world and represents a fusion of different cultures and music. The celebrations line the streets with dance, parades and colourful costumes. Held just before Lent, the Carnival is a major celebration for many Roman Catholic societies and is thought to have originated as an excuse to eat all the rich food that had to be disposed of before Lent began. The grandest Carnivals are held in:

• Rio de Janeiro – which today hosts the biggest Carnival celebrations in the world
• Trinidad – as the birthplace of calypso and steel pans
• Bolivia – for something a bit different
• Venice – the most important European Carnival in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and the city from which Latin America’s Carnival celebrations essentially originated from