Ministery of Education

Instituto Comercial Panamá

Bilingual Commerce
11°L
Teacher: Clara Castillo

Friday, November 15, 2019

 Index
Introduction
Carnival
What is Carnival?............................................................................4
What does Carnival combine?.............................................................4
The charge of Date of eachyear………………………………………………………………………5
The Carnival of Panamá
The Carnival of Panamá…………………………………………………………………………………6
Backgroup…………………………………………………………………………………………………………6
Customs………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7
The “culecos”………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
The burial of The Sardine…………………………………………………………………………….8
Carnavalitos…………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
Main points of the Carnival Celebration…………………………………………………….8
Carnaval Songs ……………………………………………………………………………………………..9
Carnival Meals ………………………………………………………………………………………………9
Carnaval of Las Tablas
Carnaval of Las Tablas…………………………………………………………………………………… 10
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11
 Introduction
The origin of its celebration seems likely to be in pagan festivals, such as those
held in honor of Bacchus, the Roman god of chaos, the feast and wine, the
saturnals and the Roman lupercals, or those held in honor of the bull Apis in
Egypt.

According to some historians, the origins of this holiday would go back to ancient
Sumeria and Egypt, more than 5,000 years ago, with very similar celebrations at
the time of the Roman Empire, from where the custom expanded through
Europe, being taken to America by Spanish and Portuguese navigators from the
late fifteenth century.
Carnival, although the Christian Church does not admit it as a celebration of
religious tone, is associated with Catholic countries, and to a lesser extent with
Eastern Orthodox Christians; Protestant cultures have modified traditions, such
as the Panamanian carnaval.
What is Carnival?
It is a celebration that takes place immediately
before Christian Lent (which begins with Ash
Wednesday), and has a variable date (between
February and March according to the year).
Traditionally it begins on a Thursday (Thursday
lardero) and ends the following Tuesday (Carnival
Tuesday).

What does Carnival combine?

It combines elements such as costumes, groups that sing
songs, parades and street parties. Despite the
differences that its celebration presents in the world,
its common characteristic is that it is a period of
permissiveness and some lack of control.

Carnival Origin

When it has been tried to indicate the origin of the

Carnival, the history goes back to precedents of
different civilizations that, without using the same
concept of party with which the Carnival is known,
have used similar objects and utensils. In this sense,
the use of masks in celebrations and rites of pagan
origin has been interpreted as the existence of
Carnival in any type of culture that has preceded
us.
The remotest origins could be in the bacchanal, the saturnals and the lupercals, parties in
honor of the gods Bacchus, Saturn and Pan, respectively. In the same way, there has also
been talk of the month of Phaljova in India, the festival of Phallus in Egypt or the
Arabian Axura.

However, Carnival is a child of Christianity, because without the idea of Lent, it would
not exist in the concrete way in which it has existed since dark dates of the European
Middle Ages.

Ethnologists find in the carnival surviving elements of ancient festivals and cultures,
such as the winter festival (Saturnalia), Greek and Roman Dionysian celebrations
(Bacanales), pre-Hispanic Andean festivals and African-American cultures.

The change of Date of each year

The date of the carnival depends on Lent, and as we
well know this also changes every year depending on the
liturgical calendar. The dates of this calendar are related
to the lunar cycle and accommodate the days for Holy
Thursday to always be a full moon (choose the first full
moon Thursday between March and April).
 of
The Carnivals of Panama
Also called King Momo festivities, they are celebrated
for four consecutive days, before Ash Wednesday. This
Panama holiday ends Tuesday night with the burial of
the sardine.

The festivities of the Panamanian carnival begin on Friday night with the coronation of
the Carnival Queen.

Already Saturday morning continues with the "mojaderas" or "culecos" that are performed
in public or private squares with tank trucks that spray river water during the day and
part of the afternoon accompanied by popular music; then at night there are parades and
stops with queens wearing carnival costumes aboard allegorical cars accompanied by troupes
and prickly pears, parallel to these activities are performed, squares and avenues.

Background
The first carnivals in Panama that took place in colonial
times where nourished groups of individuals disguised
themselves as king and queen of Spain, of conquering
soldiers, slaves and Indians who left from Peña Prieta
beach, Balboa Avenue to part of what is now the Santa
Ana Park, simulating battles. However, it was not until
1910 that through a mayor's decree, the mayor of Panama, José Agustín Arango,
formalized them. To lead the celebration it was necessary to choose a queen and this was
done in the Union Club, the first sovereign turned out to be Manuelita Vallarino, who
enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most beautiful women in Panama until the
day of her death. This is how the successors of Manuelita were going on year after year
at a time where there were popular festivities and street parties with awnings and
dances in areas such as El Chorrillo, festivities attended by the queens of the Union Club
to share the joy that reigned in the city. Everything was developed under mutual respect
and consideration.

Customs
In many villages in the interior of the country, the
carnival queens are the representatives of opposing
neighborhoods (Calle Arriba and Calle Abajo, the most
traditional and in some cases up to "Calle de En
Medio") and during the parade they are accompanied by
a multitude of people (prickly pears) which show rivalry
as part of the celebration and popular tradition.
Each Tuna comes out with two cars, the first full of ladies and the second where the
queen and her princesses go. Every time their queen goes out, they throw fireworks, they
also throw themselves during the queen's walk. During the five nights there are some
series of topics in relation to a particular feature:

 On Friday the outgoing queen leaves in a new car, just like a carnival night, then
the coronation of the incoming queen is proceeded at the headquarters of each
prickly pear.
 On Saturday night, the queen comes out in her coronation costume
 On Sunday night you go out first on foot with a box and drum prickly pear and
then walk with a murga (like all the previous days) with the national typical
costume, the pollera, and a theme related to a national fantasy arising from
history, indigenous literature, flora, fauna or mythology.
 Monday is the most luxurious day. It comes out with a giant costume and it is
the day of more gala.
 On Tuesday, the last day and never less important, in which at night he goes out
to decorate with his costume (there is no specific theme)

In some villages on Saturday carnival the costume is not specific.

 Sunday with the allegory of coronation.
 Monday is fancy.
  Tuesday is typical allegories.
The "culecos" or mojaderas
Are in disguise, following the characteristic that
Monday is the day of most fantasy and Sunday of
national fantasy. At about 5 in the morning of Ash
Wednesday, "the Topon" begins, which is nothing
more than the burning of rockets and fireworks to
indicate: Triumph, completion of the carnival and to
measure forces between the prickly pears.

The burial of the sardine

It is nothing more than a significant act to
indicate that the carnival festivities are over and
that the Lenten season begins.

Each region celebrates this act in different ways.

In the capital city, the public and the carnival
queens leave "crying and screaming" (in the tone of
farce) while a giant can of sardine goes ahead (the sardine is very common in Panamanian
cuisine) and literally "bury the sardine".

Carnavalitos
On Friday and Saturday following these carnival days
the derek heines that are considered the village
festivals are held, since for the carnivals, many
tourists come from the country and abroad. On
Friday night a ball gown and crown are worn. On
Saturday there is a culeco with disguise and at
night it is a walk with disguise (1 car only at night). Generally the carnival is something
refused from the carnival.

Main points of the Carnival Celebration

 Las Tablas  Villa de los Santos  Pese
 Río de Jesús  Ciudad Capital  Pedasí
 Chitré  Guarare  Ocú
 Parita  Santiago  Penonomé
 Montijo  Aguadulce

Carnival Songs
Music is an element that cannot be missed at the
momo king's parties, and for us Panamanians it is
essential to have a good song to accompany any
event. That is why urban artists launch their
simplest punches for the summer, some hoping it
will be positioned as "The full Carnival."
Carnivals are one of the most anticipated parties throughout the year and it is a
tradition that two or three songs come out that become the hymns of the 5 days.

Carnival Meals
The popular holiday dishes include the fair salad, carimañolas,
chicharrones, sancocho and rice with chicken, among others.
This gastronomic offer is very common in traditional
activities such as fairs, employers' and carnivals.
The sancocho, the red potato salad, the buns, the rice with chicken and the patacones
are part of this wide culinary range.

In Panama there are countless popular festivals such as fairs,

employers and carnivals.
These celebrations, apart from having in common an important
influx of spectators, have a varied gastronomic offer.
The dishes that reign on these evenings range from the red
potato salad, through the carimañolas, the yucca (boiled, fried or mojo), the
chicharrones, stew with white rice, buns, turrets of new corn, patacones, to the chicken
rice
Carnival of Las Tablas
Carnival is music, drink, dances, pure fun without
rest. Go to bed early in the morning and the next
morning enjoy the culecos, refreshing bath with
water from tank trucks that relieve hundreds of
people who sing and dance under a strong sun.
The city is divided into two sides, Calle Abajo and
Calle Arriba and each one presents its queens, cars
and prickly pears. The competition fuels the carnival.

The queen of the carnival is born queen. Their families determine in which year they will
be crowned, which implies an attitude towards this condition on the part of the girl,
family, friends and even future lovers. Being tableñas or daughters of tableños is a main
condition, in addition to beauty, charisma and the ability to generate support.
 Conclusion
It is difficult and complex to define what Carnival is. However, we must
understand that it is a historical and social construction that brings together
individuals and groups with different habits, which are organized in different
spaces.

The importance of Carnival lies in being a conductor of cultural values, which are
related to each other in a participatory manner, in order to create links
consciously or unconsciously.

Carnival awakens sensations that stimulate liberation and subversion in our minds.
This premise leads us to understand the reason why the world is involved in
humor and satire. Party society is free of tax rules that seek to regulate people's
behavior.