Carnival at Santiago de Cuba
The Carnival of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s most famous and hottest ‘fiesta’ is organized in the last week of July every year. This celebration commemorates the end of sugar crisis since decades and we must not forget the exploit of the ‘Comandante’ and his fellows in 1953 that also happened in these days.
Before the Carnival of Santiago all the women and men, schoolchildren and oldsters, bus drivers and party leaders are preparing for the big event together like a big family.They are busy making the carnival decoration, sewing the dancer’s dresses, practicing the choreography, organizing the groups’ to make everything perfect for the big day. The tingle of the typical Caribbean air of Santiago de Cuba is almost tangible from the middle of the month. Young are chatting about their plans for the future in the parks in the evenings, in the club of the 100-year-olds grey-headed men and women wink at each other with the fire of eternal youth in their eyes recalling the memories of the past. Everybody goes to bed with the same thing on his mind: the CARNIVAL is to begin soon!
The day has come!
Heart beats, hand shakes, salsa, merengue and reggaeton enhance the atmosphere from the loudspeakers – no more waiting. All who lives and moves puts his/her best dress on, has a look at the mirror, squeezes out the last drops of the perfume bottle and gather his/her treasured pesos. While closing the door with dance movements whistles to the neighbour and join a happy company going to the celebration. The Carnival of Santiago de Cuba is beginning!
The handful groups of people going to the carnival are united in some minutes and they are winding through the narrow streets of the ‘heroic city’ like a giant snake. At the roadside and pavement casual traders offer their wares by shouting loud to get their money the soonest. They offer balloons, straw hats, donuts with marmalade, rolls stuffed with pork, freshly fried greaves, red sweet juice, neon green party trumpets, purple toy tractors and who knows what else that one will definitely need in life.The plastic mug is an outstanding piece of the kitsch parade. It is sold from a tree-shaped column and it brings the best profit during the noisy days of the carnival. The seller and his assistant are collecting the 20 peso banknotes decorated with the portrait of Camilio Cienfuegos with 4 hands but they still can hardly handle the impatient buyers. Everyone is trying to get one of them as soon as possible like it meant life. It is because they can get the cure-all from the next tractor trailer: fresh draft beer.
After drinking the elixir of life men and women light up a strong Popular. After all the ‘warm-up’ they walk to the real scene of the carnival with satisfied smile on the face.
At both sides of the two-lane road grandstands are set up from roof strips, planks and sheets of veneer by skilful Cuban hands. Behind the grandstands giant colourful posters promotes the carnival. Top events taking place here but an average citizen can not afford it as a seat costs 10 convertible pesos. About 20 meters from the grandstand you can enjoy the show free.
Musicians tune their loved instruments quietly, directors arrange things excitedly, dancers adjust their cloths, soldiers guarding every 10 meters. The crowd is waiting noisily for the conference that opens the celebration they were waiting for during the last year.
Moments of waiting passes slowly but candy and peanut vendors are walking along to resolve tension with some snacks. The excited crowds stands on one foot to another, they run out of peanut and eat their last candy bars. The wait was not in vain. The national anthem sounds from the loudspeaker! Every citizens’ eyes kindled and they sing the anthem proudly. There is no doubt, Cubans all feel in the heart that their nation is unified. They all have the same sentence in mind from childhood: ‘El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!’ /Fidel Castro/, it means ‘The unified nation will never be defeated!’.
Then a pretty young lady comes to the microphone and welcomes everyone. She wishes a very happy celebration for the next 3 days. She is still speaking when spectacular fireworks take place that dazzles old and young too.
While everyone is staring at the sky watching the purple-green-red-blue explosive flowers musicians create a band. Barrels become drums and are ready for a long ride.The last ‘star’ falls down from the sky and police motorcycles passes in front of the grandstands. They perform a few minutes show with their shiny motorcycles and sirens astonishing the crowd. The pretty lady comes to the microphone again.
With respect in her voice and undisguised admiration she invites the next group to start dancing. This is the biggest honour in the traditions of Cuban carnivals. Grey-headed oldsters lead their petite ladies in front of the audience. The audience welcomes them clapping and standing on the grandstands. The band plays danzon and the smiling 70 and 80-year-old dancers show example to their young followers with proud in their movements.
Son of the foreigner man who sees this first in the life stands at the grandstand in euphoria. He couldn’t see such a thing before in a movie; even Hollywood is able to do so.At the end of the dance, everyone in the crowd from the 8-year-old to the 80-year old is standing, cheering and clapping. The seniors and also the icons of the city slowly walk away afterwards.
A few meters behind them the next dancers are preparing themselves to show the history of Cuba since 1492 in their choreographies. It also symbolizes that Cuba is strongly linked to its roots, and basically, it feeds on it too.
Dancers are wearing costumes like kings’ and queens’ dresses, oppressive and enslaved. Their choreographies recall the past, it is a real travel in time, and you can feel like you are in the 16th century.
National dance companies, ballet companies and cultural companies take us back to the present. Choreographies, dresses, accessories of every group are very different from each other. It is because the dancers who are doing their best want the event to be more colourful, more exciting so nobody can get bored during the performances.
There is everything here one can just imagine: group of followers of the Afro-Cuban religion, called Yoruba dressed in ostentatious colours, conga companies playing on barrels with a good sense of rhythm, dance group of teenager girls dresses in hand-made skirts, every age and style are represented.
The last happening of the first day of the carnival after the performances of all music styles is the music pageant in Latin-American atmosphere. This is the moment worth living!
Those, who had already been to the Copacabana or the Carnival of Trinidad and Tobago know this feeling. It is hard to describe with words the sight of the long line trucks with dancing Caribbean beauties on them. The girls are wearing glittering mini dresses and with their dance they charm the men staring at the trucks. They all think ‘I’ve never thought that such a thing that exists!’ and forget the eternal loyalty.
After the days full of music the crowd of the carnival goes home tired. They tell the stories to their friends and neighbours and enjoy the last moments of the ‘fiesta’.
Some of them call their workplace to announce they are not able to go to work for a couple of days and the bosses accept that. There are also some people who can’t believe that they have to wait another year for the next carnival. Others receive some awards recognizing their perfect work during the celebrations and go to work proud every morning.
Everybody thinks differently about it, everybody takes part in it other way, everybody looks at it differently but one thing is sure: EVERYBODY IS WAITING FOR THE NEXT CARNIVAL IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA!
Miguel is an addict of Cuba travel and he shared his experience about one of his favourite events, which is part of many Cuba excursions.
