Ultimate Guide to Sitges Carnival 2017
Sitges Carnival 2017 is fast approaching! An astounding, entertaining show featuring daring parades and costumes and is now one of Spain’s most popular carnivals. This year, the Carnival of Sitges will be held from the 23th of February to the 1th of March. Here’s what you can expect…
This beautiful coastal town of Sitges owes a large part of its popularity to carnival which even outshines some of the events occuring during the summer months. Attracting thousands of visitors every year Sitges Carnival is a wild, noisy and fun fiesta with lots of dancing and merrymaking happening all along the promenade and the town centre. The partying continues well into the early hours of the morning.
The performers taking part in the parades are dressed in imaginative outfits featuring an abundance of feathers, sequins, stones and brighltly coloured makeup, transforming Sitges into an explosion of colour.
Sitges is globally recognised as an icon of gay culture, and has been a symbol against intolerance and repression for decades. There is a splendid gay and lesbian atmosphere in the festival resulting from the liberal and relaxed attitude enjoyed throughout the celebrations.
The Carnival of Sitges celebrations kick off on Jueves Lardero (Fat Thursday), with a fireworks show on the seafront announcing the arrival of the king of the festival, His Majesty Carnestoltes (Forbidden Meat) and the Carnival Queen. Together with their entourage they take over the Town Hall and carry out the “predicot” comprising a satirical speech giving permission for everyone to enjoy themselves and have fun in the crazy celebrations. The carnival is then officially opened and the streets in Sitges beat in time with the celebrations.
In the evening they celebrate “xatonadas”. Xato is a typical sauce of the area made with nuts and nora pepper (dried mild red pepper) that usually accompanies salads prepared with anchovies and cod. Coca de chicharrones (sort of a pine nut and pork crackling pastry) and butifarra de huevo (egg sausage) are also typically eaten during the Carnival of Sitges.
On Saturday the Children’s celebrations take place and also the fun “Cursa de llits disfressats” (Bed Race). However, the highlight of the Sitges Carnival has to be the two parades, the Rua de la Disbauxa (the Debauchery Parade) taking place on Sunday the 26th of February and the Rua del Extermini (Extermination Parade) occuring on Tuesday the 28th.
These carnival parades are true works of creative art with extravagant make up, original dance moves, huge sound systems, drag queens, fun masks and fantasy costumes, etc. More than 50 floats and thousands of participants dance through the streets of the town making Sitges vibrate to the beat of the music.
Sitges Carnival comes to an end on ash wednesday with the burial of king carnestoltes following the reading his will. This grotesque ceremony ends with an effigy of Carenstoltes being burned on a bonfire.
Sitges Carnival is one of the most entertaining and lively in Spain. Renting an apartment in Sitges will allow you to discover this charming town and enjoy the great atmosphere to the full.
