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| Carnaval in Curaçao has two parades: the Grand March on Sunday afternoon, and the Farewell March on Tuesday, Mardi Gras, which starts around 8 pm. |
If you've been to the big Mardi Gras celebrations--Rio, Veracruz, New Orleans--the Curaçao version will be, sadly, disappointing. But to locals, Carnaval (no, not Carnival) is the event of the year. More important than Christmas, or even the newly minted Dia di Korsow (Curaçao Day) that celebrates Curaçao becoming a country within the Kingdom of The Netherlands (instead of part of the defunct Netherlands Antilles).
The only holiday that might give Carnaval a run for its money is New Year's. And that would be a close run.
Which is why Carnaval Monday shouldn't surprise me.
Uh-huh. Today is a holiday here.
Everything is closed, just like New Year's Day. No, no parade today--the time off is to recover from yesterday's, and to be fresh for tomorrow's. Which ends at midnight, with the burning of Rei (King) Momo.
